While this recipe is traditionally done with crisp fried whole fish (usually Red Snapper) in Jamaica, I quite like to done with Kingfish… one of, if not my favorite fish. Basically a quick, spicy vegetable pickle poured over the fried fish, so the recipe itself is very forgiving as you can easily over-cook the fish…
One of the things I looked forward too the entire trip to Jamaica was the FISH. From the jerk, to them being steamed with okra and crackers to my favorite… escovitch! Red Snapper (or Parrot fish) seasoned, perfectly fried, then topped with the spicy pickled dressing known as escovitch sauce. For most the thin slices of Scotch Bonnet were to be avoided, but they were like little prizes between the sweet peppers, scallions, onions and other ingredients in the vinegar based sauce. Any trip to the Caribbean is more than just a homecoming, it’s a culinary extravaganza for me and Jamaica did not disappoint!
The only way our mom would get us to eat fish as kids was when she would pan fry King Fish and serve it to us with ketchup and a little pepper sauce. I guess it’s the same way our daughters learned to appreciate fish, as my mom (grandma) would purposely make fried fish when…
This Jamaican style escovitch fish takes be back 21 years, when my friends and I would head down to Toronto to shop for records (remember 45’s and 33’s?) for our aspiring DJ business. That trip usually had us end up in the Jamaican community on Eglinton Ave where there were not only many record stores…
As kids growing up on the islands the only way our mom could ever get us to eat fish, was when she made this recipe. Looking back I believe her fish of choice was carite (sp), but today I much prefer using King Fish (very meaty and holds it shape great when frying). I still…
