Red Snapper with Mango Shrimp Salsa

On our third fish/seafood for the week, we finally picked up some red snapper.  We have avoided this fish because we just did not know what to do with it.  But we were lucky as we found a recipe in our file dating back to 1997 from Two Hot Tamales.  


Do you remember when cooking shows first started on television?  These two ladies, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger introduced us all to slightly different cooking.  We really wanted to cook a whole red snapper, but they were out at the fish market and so we got two beautiful fillets.  It worked out great for us.

We do think the Mango Shrimp Salsa that topped this fish is what made the dish.  A lot of chopping and dicing, but it came together quickly and we enjoyed it a lot.  And no, we did not add the 3 serrano chilies as the recipe called for.  First of all, we couldn't find any this week, so we substituted 1 red jalapeno and it was just enough heat.  It was also our first time using tomatillos.  We have seen them a lot, but again, did not know what to do with them.  We asked for 3 at the local market and unbeknown to us, when we arrived home we had at least a dozen.  Also asked for 1 jalapeno and came home with at least a dozen.  Will have to figure out what to do with the rest.

Red Snapper with Mango Shrimp Salsa
  from M.S.  Milliken and S. Feniger

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup diced raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Juice from 1/2 lime
Juice from 1/2 orange
3 serrano chilies, seeded and diced
3 Italian Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tomatillos, husks removed, seeded and diced
1 small mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 red snapper filets, about 6-8 ounces each
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Prepare the grill to make a hot fire.

To prepare the salsa, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet, over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic.  Saute 2 to 3 minutes, then add the shrimp.  Saute 2 to 3 minutes more, or until the shrimp turns pink.

Add the fruit juices, chilies, tomatoes and tomatillos.  Cook just long enough to warm the tomatoes and combine ingredients.  Remove from heat and gently stir in mango and cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside

Coat the fish with oil on both sides.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill the fish on one side 5 minutes or less.  Carefully turn and grill about 3 minutes or less.

Spoon the warm salsa over the grilled fish and garnish with springs of cilantro.

Very nice salsa, but we really enjoyed the flavor of the snapper.  Odd that we have never tried it before.