Growing up in Old Harbour Jamaica had it's blessings, we were close to one of the Islands busiest fishing ports. This meant that my dad or mom would be taking frequent trip to Old Harbour Bay to get fish. Whether we curried, roasted, steamed or even fried, fish was a staple. For me though, my favorite prepared fish was escovitch fish. OHHH can I just share that for the longest time, I kept calling this style of fish Escobeach (LOL). Maybe this was because we always ate this fish at the beach. I am pretty sure I was not the only one who said this. So now, I have more sense, I say ESCOVitch. BUT I never tried to make the escovitch sauce while in Jamaica.
It is really interesting the things we take for granted. For me it was food! My mom would cook and it was easy to delicious food at most of the local spots, but it was not until I moved to Japan that I realized I really did not know how to make something as simple as escovitch sauce. So I went to my reliable source- my mother and after several sharing sessions, I think I have found my own little recipe.
Hot and Tangy Escovitch Sauce
Whilst some people prefer to cook the vegetables, I prefer to boil the vinegar and pimento then pour it on my vegetables as I don't use all the sauce in one sitting. To get started you will need the following:
- White onions
- Peppers [Green, red, yellow - all the colors you can find] (as much as your taste buds will allow)
3.Carrots - Pimento
- White Vinegar
Now the reason I did not give measurements, is because the amount of sauce made, is really dependent on how much fish you have/will fry. For the pickled version, I boil my vinegar and pimento for at least 15 minutes, then pour over my vegetables.
With Easter around the corner, I am sure you will be making plans to have some escovitch fish. So why not go ahead and start preparing your sauce, the longer it sits, the better it becomes.
Happy Cooking!
Stacie