Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Main Course: Guava Glazed Snapper and Plantains in Pepian Sauce

Chef Howland’s Guava Glazed Snapper

Guava Glazed Snapper

In this Video Bite, Chef Graham Howland demonstrates how to select and prepare fresh, local fish with a sweet guava glaze. In the video, he uses yellowtail snapper. At my dinner, I served lane snapper. His specialty is seafood.

Chef Howland is now retired, but his experiences as a chef include cooking for the Reagan family in the White House and sailing the world as a chef on chartered yachts for fifteen years. Many thanks to Chef Howland for helping with this video.

Fried Plantains in Guatemalan Pepian Sauce

I first tried the Guatemalan version of pepian this past summer, when I was visiting Guatemala. My version tastes a bit more this side of mole, but I am quite satisfied with the results. I used a combination of recipes from the web, including this one, this one, and this one to craft the recipe. This sauce is dark, rich, smoky and spicy.

Achiote paste, pasilla chiles, and toasted spices for pepian

I used a recipe from chow.com to make the achiote paste. I only had ¼ cup of annatto seeds, so I cut the whole recipe in half.  My substitutions to the chow.com recipe are listed in the ingredients below.

TIME:

About 2 hours

INGREDIENTS:

Ripe plantains, with dark and almost black skin

Neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola

For pepian:

5 Roma tomatoes

2 tomatillos, washed after removing husks

1 yellow onion, peeled

3 garlic cloves

1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds

1/3 c. pepitoria or green pumpkin seeds

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup reserved broth from peppers

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons achiote paste

2 ounce piece, broken up, of Guatemalan or Mexican cooking chocolate (not the same as baking chocolate)

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder (if desired)

Handful of cilantro

Salt to taste

For achiote paste:

¼ cup of annatto seeds

5 cloves garlic

½ cup lime juice

½ cups grapefruit juice

½ tablespoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ tablespoon black peppercorns

3 allspice berries

3 cloves

Pinch of St. Augustine Minorcan Spice , which contains Seville Orange

Guatemalan Pepian

Roast 5 Roma tomatoes, 2 peeled tomatillos, 3 garlic cloves and onion at 450 degrees, for about 45 minutes, until skin gets brown spots.

Once the tomatoes cool, peel them. Remove the seeds.

Meanwhile, soak 3 dried pasilla chiles in 2 ½ cups hot chicken broth for several minutes, until soft.

Meanwhile, pan roast the sesame seeds, cinnamon stick, and pumpkin seeds on a dry, bare pan.

Remove the seeds from the heat once they become aromatic and/or start to jump.

Once the chiles are soft, shred them with your hands or a knife. Remove the seeds.

You can also make the achiote paste while the vegetables roast.

Bring the roasted vegetables, toasted seeds, chile, 3 tablespoons of achiote paste, cup of reserved pepper broth, cup of vegetable broth, chocolate, and salt to a boil.

Make sure the chocolate breaks up and dissolves.

Stir occasionally while simmering for 15 minutes.

The sauce will reduce and become richer.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Puree in food processor with a cup of vegetable broth and a handful of cilantro.

Salt to taste.

Add ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder, if desired.

Serve over the plantains.

Plantains

Peel the plantains.

Cut the plantains on the bias, about a half-inch thick.

Salt and pepper them to taste.

Fry them in a neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed.

Once one side is golden brown, gently turn the plantains.

Once cooked, place the plantains on a plate lined with paper towels.