Caribbean · Jamaican seafood
Jamaican Escoveitch Fish
Crisp fried fish topped with a tangy Jamaican pickle of peppers, onions, carrots, and vinegar.
4servings25 minprep20 mincookJamaicanclassic
From Dianne's kitchen
Crisp fish, bright pickle
Escoveitch balances hot, crisp fish with a sharp, colorful vegetable pickle.
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 4 whole fish, cleaned and scaled
- Lime juice, for washing
- Salt and black pepper
- Oil, for frying
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 Scotch bonnet, optional
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Pimento berries and thyme
Step by step
Instructions
- Rub fish with lime juice, rinse, pat dry, and season inside and out with salt and black pepper.
- Fry the fish in hot oil until golden and cooked through; drain on a rack or paper towel.
- For the pickle, combine vinegar, water, sugar, thyme, and pimento in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, and whole hot pepper. Cook just until the vegetables soften slightly but still have bite.
- Place fish on a platter and spoon the hot escoveitch vegetables and liquid over the top.
- Serve warm or let stand briefly so the fish absorbs the tangy flavor.
Dianne's kitchen tip
Keep the vegetables crisp
Do not overcook the pickle vegetables; their crunch is part of escoveitch's character.