1 cup annato paste
2 fillets red snapper -- (1 lb)
-- or other
-- firm-fleshed fish,
-- skin on
--citrus-habanero sauce--
1/2 cup orange juice -- fresh squeezed
- seeds removed -- slivered
1/2 cup lime juice -- fresh squeezed
1/4 cup cilantro; chopped
1/2 cup water
salt
1/3 cup onion -- chopped
3 tablespoon oil -- optional
1 habanero chile; veins and seeds removed
***achiote paste***
1 cup annatto -- (achiote) seeds
4 teaspoons coriander seeds
10 cloves garlic
10 whole allspice berries
1/3 cup Quintana Roo oregano -- or
-- Mexican oregano
1-1/4 cups white vinegar -- or equal
-- combination of
-- fresh orange juice
-- or
-- fresh lime juice
5 tablespoon peppercorns
4 teaspoons ground cumin
Instructions:
"Red Snapper With Achiote Paste (Huachinango Con Recado De Adobo Colorado)"
Spread Annato (Achiote) Paste on both sides of fish, covering well.
Place fish in refrigerator 1 to 2 hours. In mixing bowl combine orange
juice, lime juice, water, onion, habanero, cilantro and salt to taste.
Barbeque fish over hot coals, skin-side down, until seared, 2 minutes.
Or heat 3 tablespoons oil in skillet large enough to accommodate fish
until very hot, then place fish in pan, skin-side down, and fry until
seared, 2 minutes. Place seared fish in 1-inch deep baking dish and
pour citrus-habanero sauce over. Bake until fish is firm to touch
and thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Achiote
Paste (Recado De Adobo Colorado): Combine annatto, garlic, oregano,
peppercorns, cumin, coriander, allspice and vinegar or juice mixture
in blender or food processor. Process with on/off motion until thoroughly
pureed. Add more orange juice or vinegar to give smooth paste consistency.
Keeps indefinitely, if made with vinegar, or up to 3 weeks if made
with citrus juices. Makes 1 1/2 cups. Presented by: Zarella Martinez,
L.A. Times article, "Home Ground", 10/6/94, page H16. "The ricado
used in this dish is the basis for many Yucatan peninsula dishes.
The most famous is cochinita pibil; a suckling pig, marinated with
this spice paste and wrapped in banana leaves, baked in a Mayan earth
oven called a pib. Large fish and venison or other wild game are also
baked in pibs. I slather this paste on guinea hens and broil them
on the rotisserie, or wrap marinated chicken breasts or fish fillets
in banana leaves with slices of orange and steam the packets. One
of my favorite appetizers is chicken drummettes baked with this recado.
"... Quintana Roo oregano comes from a tree, not a shrub, and the
long leaves turn black when they dry. Mexican oregano can be substituted
for it."
