This red snapper dish may have a lot of components to it, but it’s easy to make, and it’s a perfect dish for entertaining. You can do most of it well ahead of time and then let the fish slowly cook in the oven. I choose red snapper because, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, it’s a good alternative to more overfished and toxic seafood. Plus, I like the delicate taste and texture of red snapper. You’ll want to buy a wild-caught snapper from the Gulf of Mexico, not from the South Atlantic.
Slow cooking food is one of the healthiest ways to prepare a protein. Unlike grilling, which produces such delicious charred tastes that happen to be carcinogenic, slow roasting or baking a fish is good for you. This dish has all healthy fats – olive oil and green olives! And it’s full of that wonderfully fresh tasting and anti-inflammatory herb, parsley. I like a lot of citrus in this dish. It brings a nice contrast between the sweetness of the fish and the parsley, so I use a bit more than the original recipe, from Bon Appetit, calls for.
Slow Cooked Red Snapper with Green Olive, Red Onion, Citrus Relish
INGREDIENTS
- 2 organic lemons, for zest and juice
- 1 organic lime, for zest and juice
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced into rings
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
- ½ cup Castelvetrano or other brined green olives (about 24), coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons drained capers, chopped
- 1¼ cups olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or unfiltered soy sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound wild-caught red snapper filets (or a fresh wild-caught thick white-fleshed fish)
- 2 dried red chiles, stemmed, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
PREPARATION
- Finely grate zest from lemons and lime; set aside. Juice the lime and lemons, set aside. Combine onion and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Let sit 10 minutes. Squeeze onion to remove any excess liquid; add to bowl with citrus juice. Add olives, capers, reserved lemon and lime zest, and ¾ cup oil; season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Cover relish and chill at least 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 250°. Bring relish to room temperature.
- Place snapper in a large shallow baking dish or roasting pan and drizzle with remaining ½ cup oil. Add chiles and turn fish to coat; season with salt. Roast fish until just cooked through, 30–40 minutes.
- Transfer fish to a platter. Mix parsley, apple cider vinegar, and Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or an organic tamari) into relish and spoon over fish.
I serve this with baked sweet potato and a salad of romaine lettuce, celery, and avocado with a light citrus dressing to complement the relish.
Note: Relish (without parsley) can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
