Located along the eastern coast of Mexico, Veracruz is a multicultural and beautiful state with some of the most beloved culinary gifts in the republic, including vanilla, coffee, and jalapeños. Veracruz cuisine takes advantage of its climate, geography, and blended history, resulting in many iconic dishes. Veracruz-style sauce adorns one of the states most famous dishes, with a fascinating cultural and historical background.
Known in Spanish as salsa Veracruzana, Veracruz-style sauce is a bright, aromatic sauce served over fish or chicken. The ingredients that give salsa Veracruzana its distinctly fresh taste are a combination of native Mexican tomatoes and jalapeños, with onions, capers, olives, and garlic brought over from the Old World.
Veracruz-style sauce uses fresh and pickled ingredients, supplying a diverse palate that blends the zesty and spicy flavors of Mexico with the earthy, umami, and aromatic flavors of the Spanish Mediterranean. The combination of flavors reflects a meeting of cultures that lies at the heart of Mexican identity.
Veracruz sauce is a tomato-based sauce from the region in the Gulf Coast of Mexico that features tomatoes, capers, olives, oregano and bay leaves. If you’re thinking that this sauce is reminiscent of a Mediterranean dish, you aren’t wrong—these are definitely classic Mediterranean ingredients!
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The sauce is made by sautéing onion and garlic and then adding chopped tomatoes, roasted chiles, green olives, and capers. The fish is cooked separately and then topped with the sauce. Any type of white fish fillet will work well in this recipe, like tilapia, red snapper, cod, halibut, or flounder; just be sure to adjust the cooking time for thicker fillets.
Veracruz is one of the first places the Spanish settled in Mexico, and that is evident in the Mediterranean-influenced traditional dishes like this pescado a la Veracruzana. Veracruz boasts a long coastline and so seafood is very popular in this port city on the Gulf of Mexico. This white fish in a Veracruz sauce combines a fresh fish fillet with a sauce made of onion, tomatoes, garlic, chiles, olives, and capers, making for a healthy dish full of flavor.
History and cultural significance of Veracruz-style sauce
Veracruz-style sauce comes from the traditional Veracruzan dish, Huachinango a la Veracruzana, featuring heaping servings of the sauce served over whole snapper. The dish depicts how history and ecology shape local cuisine. Red snapper is native to the gulf coast and consequently a major source of protein in coastal peoples diets throughout history. The gulf coast of Veracruz is also the first point of contact between indigenous Mexicans and the Spanish conquistadors in the early 16th century. Huachinango a la Veracruzana uses Veracruzs bountiful coastal ecology and the culinary exchanges between the Old and New World.
Indigenous Mexicans had experience cooking with tomatoes and jalapeños as native Mexican food crops; jalapeños get their name from residents of the city of Xalapa, the state capital of Veracruz. Capers, olives, onions, and garlic are Old World cultivars brought by Europeans to the New World. The mixture of ingredients reflects the mixture of these two cultures, a term Mexicans refer to as “mestizaje”, which is the core of modern Mexican identity.
As a taste of Mexican history and complex cultural identity, Veracruz-style sauce has earned a special place in Veracruzs heart and diet. Youll see it on the menu at restaurants and at home throughout Veracruzs coastal towns and cities.
How to Make Mexican Snapper Veracruzana, Part 1
FAQ
What does Vera Cruz taste like?
What is Veracruz style food?
How do you make Veracruz sauce?
Add tomatoes and onions and cook over low heat until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes. Add jalapeño, olives, oregano, capers, water, and salt, to taste. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Serve Veracruz Sauce over grilled or pan-fried white fish or chicken breast. Accompany this with white rice, if you like.
What is Veracruzano sauce made of?
Sauces and Flavors: Veracruzano sauces often combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, olives, capers, and various herbs and spices. The resulting sauces are savory, aromatic, and can be slightly tangy. Herbs and Spices: Cilantro, parsley, and epazote are common herbs used in Veracruzano dishes.
What is Veracruz sauce?
Veracruz sauce is a tomato-based sauce from the region in the Gulf Coast of Mexico that features tomatoes, capers, olives, oregano and bay leaves. If you’re thinking that this sauce is reminiscent of a Mediterranean dish, you aren’t wrong—these are definitely classic Mediterranean ingredients!
What is fish in Veracruz sauce?
Fish in Veracruz Sauce is a delicious 30-minute, one-pan dish featuring white fish fillets simmered in a zesty tomato sauce flavored with capers, olives, and onions. It’s so simple and delicious that you’ll rush to add it to your weekly dinner rotation!