In my culinary mind’s eye, I went fishing. The fact is, I wouldn’t last long on those high seas; I would go hungry. I prefer to dangle my feet by the water’s edge and watch the waves. I take my hat off and prefer to leave fishing to those hardworking fisher men/women who toil to bring the seafood to my table.
So, it was a deja vu kind of afternoon. I love fish and seafood overall. As always, I fetched my snapper at my neighborhood fish market. And, my cute fish monger did me the honors of cleaning and gutting my fish. I was ready for action (well, my snapper).
Brought home my catch and decided to steam them. Firstly, scored, rinsed and seasoned with salt, black pepper crushed garlic. In a hot and sturdy skillet, I added drizzle of coconut oil. To that I added roughly chopped:
- Onions
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
After the above were sautéed and seasoned with salt and black pepper, crushed pimento (all spice), thyme,crushed garlic, squeeze of ketchup, finely chopped peppers were added along with water. Under low to medium heat, blanched okra and whole snapper were added and steamed for approximately seven minutes per side. A pat of butter was also added to fish a shiny and rich finish. And because seafood likes acid, I squeezed a burst of lemon and a splash of vinegar on fish.
I served my snapper with steamed whole-grain rice along with a side serving of avocado and tomato salad. I couldn’t resist, in order to temper the spice in my steamed snapper, I added the sweet serving of fried plantains to the dish.