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VERACRUZ with Chef Alejandro Dimakis
By Jeff Becker Photography By Joseph Burgess
 The story of Mexican cuisine is a tale of hope. It starts in Veracruz when the Spanish, led by Hernan Cortez, founded this city in 1519. The land of Mexico was at that time inhabited by a number of highly civilized societies. By the time the Spainards arrived many of these cultures, like the Olmecs, had survived for 2,500 years on staples of corn and beans—naturally complementary amino acids and together a near-perfect protein. Chiles, squash, tomatoes, wild greens, fruits and domesticated turkeys and ducks supplemented this diet.
While these cultures were eventually destroyed in the Conquest, the food survived. In its own metaphorical way, the cuisine that developed from the clash of the Spanish with the Natives of North America represents a true blending of cultures. The history books give credit for the birth of Mexican cuisine to the convents. However, two specialists in Mexican cuisine, Chef Alejandro Dimakis and Chef Sergio Remolina of Mision Guadalupe in Juarez, are quick to point out that nuns didn’t cook. According to the chefs, it was the natives in those convent kitchens that were responsible for combining the pre-Hispanic food with the new ingredients brought by the Spanish. It was the little people that were responsible for fashioning this great cuisine.
The type of cooking that has grown out of Veracruz, which boasts the longest coastline in the country, aptly represents the diversity of Mexican cuisine. A variety of fish, especially Red Snapper, define this menu. Any dish a la veracruzana will come smothered in a sauce of tomatoes, spices, olives, potatoes and (as with Chef Dimakis’ recipe) raisins. Borrowing heavily from the Caribbean, this style uses plantains, fish, and regional spices. When eating the food of Veracruz, remember that this is a true union of disparate cultures. Like the pyramids, some of the flavors in this food are all we have left of an ancient civilization. The food is a true representation of Mexican culture. Despite the horrors of history, this food came to be from the one thing we all have in common: the desire to eat well.
From Chef Alejandro Dimakis of Mision Guadalupe:
This is a recipe from my boyhood. In those days the sauce contained everything that I will use in the following recipe, not just tomato sauce (the way it is served in most restaurants now). I think it is sad that today no one knows the traditional way it is done. This is one of the glorious plates of Mexico, whose preparation and ingredients have been persevered through the years. Unfortunately, fewer are serving it the way it used to be.
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FILETE A LA VERACRUZANA
(Red Snapper in a Veracruzana sauce)
Serves 6
6 red snapper fillets (6 oz each)
1/2 tbsp salt
2 lbs Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp capers
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1/4 cup green olives, sliced
2 tbsp raisins
18 small red potatoes, cooked and peeled
1 cup pickled yellow banana peppers
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
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PREPARATION
1. Salt the filets and leave them to rest in the refrigerator at leas half and an hour while you do the sauce.
2. Put 2 to 3 quarts of water until it boils, then blanch the tomatoes so the skin will peel away. Then put them in cold water, remove, and cut in half.
3. Place a large strainer over a container. One by one, squeeze the tomatoes with your hands into the strainer. Try to get as much juice as you can, and then set aside. Chop the left over skins and save.
4. Pan fry the potatoes in olive oil until golden brown and remove. In the remaining olive oil cook the onions and the garlic for a few seconds and then add the chopped tomato. Mix.
5. Taste it. If the tomato is very acidic (sour tasting) add sugar. Salt to taste, then add the bay leaves, oregano, and parsley. Stir until the tomato is fully cooked, then add the squeezed tomato juice, olives, raisins, potatoes and capers and simmer.
6. Put the fish filets in the sauce and leave them to cook for 5-7 minutes.
Serve with plenty of sauce, a few potatoes and white rice.
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