Huachinango en Pipián Verde...Huachinango en Pipián Verde y Nube de Epazote

Crisp-skinned Pacific red snapper seated atop a velvet pumpkin seed and roasted tomatillo pipián, finished with delicate blue corn masa crisps and cold-pressed epazote oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   To prepare the epazote oil, blend the blanched and thoroughly dried epazote leaves with 100ml grapeseed oil in a high-speed blender on high for 3 minutes until warm and vibrant green. Strain immediately through a fine chinois lined with cheesecloth over an ice bath; set aside.

2. 02

   In a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat, toast the raw pepitas until puffed and fragrant, taking care not to scorch. Reserve 2 tablespoons for plating; transfer the remainder to a blender.

3. 03

   In the same hot skillet, blister the tomatillos, charred onion, peeled charred garlic, serrano pepper, and roasted poblano until caramelized with dark spots.

4. 04

   Combine toasted pepitas, blistered vegetables, hoja santa, and 250ml warm fish fumet in the blender. Purée on high until silky smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucier.

5. 05

   Simmer the pipián over low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring continuously until thickened to a nappe consistency. Whisk in 20g of cold cubed butter and lime juice to finish; season precisely with sea salt. Keep warm.

6. 06

   Whisk blue corn masa harina with 90ml warm water and a pinch of salt to form a thin batter. Ladle thin discs onto a non-stick pan over medium heat, cooking until crisp to create masa tuiles.

7. 07

   Pat the snapper fillets completely dry and season the flesh lightly with fine sea salt. Heat a stainless steel skillet over high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place fish skin-side down, gently pressing with a chef's spatula for 30 seconds to prevent curling.

8. 08

   Lower heat to medium and cook 80% on the skin side until the skin is glass-crisp and golden (about 4–5 minutes). Add remaining 20g butter, flip the fish for 30 seconds, baste with foaming butter, and remove immediately to rest.

9. 09

   To plate: Spoon a generous pool of warm pipián verde in the center of shallow heated bowls. Perch the crisp snapper fillet skin-side up across the sauce. Garnish with shards of blue corn tuile, toasted pepitas, and dots of emerald epazote oil around the perimeter. Finish with a delicate sprinkle of Maldon salt on the fish skin.