
Braised Red Snapper with Chimichurri
Aperçu
Whole red snapper marinated in chimichurri and then grilled or baked. Chimichurri is Argentine and Uruguayan, and the fish treatment here is a departure from its usual home alongside grilled beef. Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce, parsley, garlic, oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar, chopped fine rather than blended smooth, and it exists in two forms, verde and rojo, the red version taking paprika and sometimes tomato. Its normal job is as a table condiment for asado, the Argentine grill, where its acidity cuts through rich grilled beef. Using it as a marinade for fish is a reasonable extension of the same logic; the herbs and vinegar suit snapper well. The source's food safety notes are genuinely good and worth keeping. Marinated raw fish should be refrigerated and used within two days, never left out at room temperature, and, most importantly, marinade that has been in contact with raw fish must never be served as a sauce. Make extra chimichurri for the table rather than reusing what came off the fish. One gap in the source: the ingredient list omits parsley entirely, even though parsley is the defining ingredient of chimichurri and its own article says so. It has been restored below.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Make the chimichurri by combining the finely chopped parsley, oregano, garlic and chilli with the vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Chop rather than blend, chimichurri should have texture, not be a purée. Season to taste.
- 2
Set aside about a third of the chimichurri in a separate covered bowl to serve at the table. This portion must not touch the raw fish.
- 3
Score the snapper on both sides and rub the remaining chimichurri into the cuts and all over the fish.
- 4
Cover and refrigerate. Overnight is ideal; use within 24 to 48 hours and never leave marinating fish at room temperature.
- 5
Bring the grill up to medium-high, or set the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- 6
Grill the fish until just cooked through, about 10 minutes per side depending on size, or bake for about 45 minutes.
- 7
Serve hot with the reserved chimichurri spooned over.
Notes de l’Africook
- Never serve the marinade that touched the raw fish. Set some chimichurri aside before it goes anywhere near the snapper.
- Chop the herbs rather than blending them. A blended chimichurri turns into a dull green paste and loses the texture that defines it.
- Score the fish deeply. It lets the marinade reach the flesh rather than sitting on the skin, and it helps it cook evenly.
- Marinate overnight for the best result, but keep it refrigerated and covered throughout.
- Chimichurri improves after a few hours as the garlic and oregano infuse the oil, so make it ahead if you can.
- It works just as well on grilled beef, which is its traditional home, and on chicken.
Questions fréquentes
What is chimichurri?
An uncooked Argentine and Uruguayan sauce of finely chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar. It comes in green (verde) and red (rojo) versions, the red taking paprika and sometimes tomato. Its traditional job is as a table condiment for asado, the Argentine grill, where its sharp acidity cuts through rich grilled beef. It is chopped rather than blended, which keeps the texture that a smooth purée would lose.
Can I reuse the marinade as a sauce?
No, and this matters. Marinade that has been in contact with raw fish carries bacteria from it, and pouring it over cooked food undoes the cooking. The correct approach is to set aside a portion of the chimichurri before it touches the fish and serve that at the table. If you have only made one batch and used it all, either discard it or boil it thoroughly, which will also dull the fresh herb flavour.
Why isn't parsley in the ingredient list?
It should be, the source omits it, despite its own article correctly identifying parsley as one of the two dominant flavours in chimichurri alongside garlic. It has been restored here, because chimichurri without parsley is not chimichurri. This is one of several places in the archive where an ingredient list and the article around it disagree, and the article is right in this instance.
Is this an African dish?
No. Chimichurri is Argentine and Uruguayan, and this page sits in Worldwide Recipes under Latin American with its URL unchanged. Red snapper is fished widely off the African coast and features in many African dishes, but the sauce here is firmly South American. Africa's own herb-and-oil marinades for fish, chermoula above all, which is on this site, do a similar job from a completely different tradition.
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