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Pescado al mojo de ajo
Garlic butter fried fish
White fish fillets fried with golden garlic, butter and lime, Veracruz style
Along the Gulf coast, from the port of Veracruz to the beach restaurants of Boca del Río, pescado al mojo de ajo is the everyday fish order: firm white fillets fried and spooned over with a butter-and-oil sauce full of slowly golden garlic, a squeeze of lime and a little chile. It is served at lunchtime with white rice, a green salad and warm tortillas to mop the plate. The mistake that ruins it is rushing the garlic over a high heat: it should turn pale gold slowly, because burnt garlic is bitter and cannot be saved. Chef's tip: cook the garlic first and keep it aside, then fry the fish in the same flavoured fat, so the slices stay sweet and crisp instead of scorching while the fish cooks.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 firm white fish filletssuch as snapper, sea bass, tilapia or hake, about 150 g each, skin on or off
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp rice flour or cornflourfor dusting
For the mojo de ajo
- 12 garlic clovesthinly sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 1 guajillo chileseeded and snipped into thin rings, or 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 2 limesjuice of 1, the other cut into wedges
- 2 tbsp fresh parsleychopped
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pat 4 firm white fish fillets dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Dust lightly with 2 tbsp rice flour or cornflour and shake off the excess.
3 minStep 2: Put 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 ⅜ oz butter and 12 garlic cloves in a cold large frying pan and set it over a medium-low heat. Let the garlic sizzle gently, stirring, until it is pale gold and smells sweet. Add 1 guajillo chile for the last 30 seconds.
6 minStep 3: Lift the garlic and chile out with a slotted spoon onto a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
1 minStep 4: Turn the heat up to medium-high. Lay in the fish, skin side down if it has skin, and fry without moving until the underside is golden and the flesh has turned opaque two-thirds of the way up, 3–4 minutes.
4 minStep 5: Turn the fillets carefully and cook for 2–3 minutes more, until the fish is opaque all the way through and flakes easily when pressed with a fork.
3 minStep 6: Return the garlic to the pan, add the juice from one of 2 limes and swirl for a few seconds so the sauce bubbles around the fish. Scatter with 2 tbsp fresh parsley and serve with the lime wedges, spooning the garlic over each fillet.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 31 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pescado al mojo de ajo take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ground black pepper?
- Black peppercorns, freshly ground, same amount.
- What can I use instead of rice flour or cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
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