Baked Snapper with a Quick African Pepper Sauce

At least in its authentic glory, African pepper sauce is commonly served as a condiment, dip or cooking sauce to pair with grilled meats and vegetables or used in stews, giving your dish a perfect balance of heat and depth of flavour. It's most popular in West Africa, but you see other versions of this with other peppers taking centre stage across the Continent. The combination of peppers, herbs, and spices can enhance or top off almost any dish, and it is extremely versatile. I pick this over conventional hot sauce any day because it uses fresh vegetables, and you can make batches to freeze for future use.

This version provides a quick, easy and convenient way to add flavour to your fish. I used red snapper in this recipe, but you can also use halibut, sea bass, bream, tilapia, or any fish with a mild taste that will absorb all the flavours. For the pepper sauce, instead of cooking down and frying the blended vegetables on the stovetop as is typically done, I roasted the vegetables to bring the flavours out before blending them, then used the pepper mix to coat the fish while it baked.

One great thing about this sauce is that you can tailor it to your tastes and tolerance by adding more or fewer tomatoes and peppers. You can also remove the seeds from the hot peppers to take the heat down a notch. I prefer habanero peppers in terms of the heat and flavour, but you can use a range of peppers, from jalapenos to scotch bonnet. In any case, I recommend using the freshest ingredients possible. In addition, especially since peppers are part of the Dirty Dozen, try using organic peppers if you can afford them.

Baked Red Snapper with Quick African Pepper Sauce

Print

With ImageWithout Image

How to Make Tender Whole Red Snapper Smothered in African Pepper Saucehttps://youtu.be/-tn-4pmu9zo

Yield: 4

Author: Dontmissmyplate

Prep time: 25 HourCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 25 H & 30 M

This succulent red snapper fish smothered in a delicious, African-inspired pepper sauce with a medley of fresh ingredients will please all you serve.

Ingredients

Baked Snapper

• 1 large red snapper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2 lemon slices (optional)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoon Royco Usavi Mix (optional)
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons basil

Quick African Pepper Sauce

• 1/2 cup olive oil, and extra for roasting the peppers
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/4 cup parsley, stems removed
• 5 large basil leaves
• 1/3 large yellow onion
• 3-4 mini sweet peppers
• 2 small habanero peppers
• 1 1/2 - 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Quick African Pepper Sauce

1. Place your peppers, onion, tomato, and garlic on a baking sheet with parchment paper—season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Roast the vegetables for 25 minutes at 400F or until roasted to your desired doneness.
3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a food processor or blender. Add the ginger, parsley, basil, bouillon cube, salt, and pepper. Blend until combined, and a paste forms. Add the olive oil during this process to help smoothen the mixture.
4. Set aside while you prepare the fish.

Baked Red Snapper

1. Make sure your fish is clean, and then pat it dry with paper towels. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, herbs, and optional Royco/all-purpose seasoning.
2. Stuff the inside of the fish with the thyme, parsley, lemon and garlic.
3. Place the fish inside some foil and place it on a baking tray. Spoon the pepper sauce over both sides of the fish, ensuring it is fully coated.
4. Place the fish in the oven and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. After 15-20 minutes, remove the fish, open the foil (without burning yourself with the hot air) and baste the sauce over the fish.
5. Leave the foil open and allow the cause to continue cooking. This will help thicken and caramelize the sauce, developing the flavours further.
6. Remove from the oven and spoon some sauce into the serving dish, placing the fish on top and adding the rest of the sauce on top. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!

Notes

• To avoid overcooking the fish, check the internal temperature after 15-20 minutes and use that to determine how much more time you need.
• If you want a thicker sauce, you can place it on the stovetop before covering the fish with it and baking.
• If you get fresh fish from the market, ensure it is cleaned and descaled.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

237

Fat (grams)

13.3 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.9 g

Carbs (grams)

24.9 g

Fiber (grams)

6 g

Protein (grams)

10.9 g

I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on dontmissmyplate.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Please credit dontmissmyplate.

Chermoula Red Snapper with Peanut Butter Rice

This dish is a combination of a lot of different influences. Meals like this that make me appreciate the exposure I've had to food from my background, visiting restaurants, reading, and exploring in the kitchen.

Let’s start with the peanut butter rice!

This is a favoured way of preparing rice in Zimbabwe. It’s an easy, affordable way to add protein to the rice when there is no meat, but even when there is adds an interesting dimension to rice.  If you haven’t tried peanut butter rice, I encourage it of course!

The second most important thing, the fish and the marinade!

Chermoula is a herb marinade used to season fish and vegetables in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and other parts of North Africa. It adds a rich taste to even the mildest fish. Once you make it you will be using it forever.

As for the red snapper, once clean, stuff it with simple herbs and add some lemon slices for favour on the inside. You can also get it from the butcher prepared for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add seasoning!

Ingredients

Chermoula and fish:

1 red snapper, cleaned

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

4 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

4 lemon slices

1 thyme sprig

1 parsley spring

Peanut butter rice:

1 cup white rice

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 hot cup water

1 3/4 cups water

1 vegetable sachet or bouillon

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Beans:

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 can pinto beans (sugar beans if you can get them, that was my first choice!)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/2 vegetable bouillon, crushed

1 tablespoon Scotch bonnet pepper sauce

Instructions

Prepare the chermoula. In a blender or food processor, add the parsley, cilantro, lemon zest, paprika, cumin, and chilli powder. Mix on low while adding the olive oil to create a paste, so don’t blend until it turns into a liquid! If you accidentally do, add some more parsley to thicken. 

For the red snapper, if it isn’t already, stuff the fish with the herb sprigs and lemon slices. Baste the fish on both sides with the chermoula and chill what remains for later. Bake the fish at 450F on each side for 10-15 minutes. When done, the fish should flake easily using a fork. You can also check the internal temperature and go by what’s recommended. Set aside to rest.

While the fish bakes, prepare your rice. Cook the rice with garlic and olive oil before adding the broth sachet. Follow up with 1 3/4 cups water (or whatever rice quantity you want according to the package) and simmer with a lid until the water has evaporated - you want your rice on the drier side because the peanut butter will be added. 

Mix the hot water with the peanut butter to make a smooth paste and mix it into the rice. Steam with the lid on for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. 

For the beans, sauté them in the oil, bouillon, and spices for about 3 minutes, then simmer in water for about 5-7 minutes. Since canned beans are cooked this should not take long otherwise the beans will break down into mush.

Use the chermoula to baste the cooked snapper and serve with the hot beans and peanut butter rice, feeds 2!