Late summer. I love this time of the year. The fish are plentiful and my garden is brimming with chile peppers of all manner, making for options on top of options on top of yet more options.

Red Snapper is a great fish to work with. The flesh is firm and offers a slightly sweet, slightly nutty flavor. You have to work to mess this up.

The peppers determined the dish for me. I had a wealth of fresh southwestern and Mexican peppers so off we went. With inspiration from Amanda Biddle at Striped Spatula (her take on a Mexican “Crema” is as easy as it is delicious) off I went.

chile peppers

3 Pepper Cilantro-Lime Sauce – The Ingredients

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves , loosely packed
  • 2 tsp lime zest
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice 
  • 3 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
  • 3 Chile Peppers, seeded and sliced – Chef’s Choice (for this outing I chose 1 Hatch Chile, 1 Poblano and 1 Jalapeno)
  • 1 Shallot
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp – Brown Sugar
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste

For The Snapper – The Ingredients

  • 2 Red Snapper Fillets
  • Seasoned Salt
  • Olive oil
seafood recipe ingredients

“Pretty much” everything you need to get the meal prepped and ready to plate

3 Pepper Cilantro-Lime Sauce – Cooking Instructions

peppers, cilantro, shallots and garlic

With everything chopped, sliced and diced do the following:

  • Saute the peppers and shallots until nicely caramelized. Careful with the heat. Keep it medium low to medium. Sizzling peppers can overpower your eyes and nasal passages:)
  • Soak the garlic in the lime juice (this is a great tip from Amanda)
  • Put all of the prepared ingredients for the sauce in a blender and blend away.
  • Set aside for plating.
Minced garlic soaking in lime juice
Minced garlic soaking in lime juice
Caramelized chile peppers
Caramelized chile peppers
Cilantro-lime sauce
The “Crema”

Red Snapper – Cooking Instructions

  • Set your oven to 400 degrees
  • Pre-heat a heavy duty pan with (preferably) a cast iron grate
  • Brush your Snapper fillets with a little olive oil and powder with a helping of the seasoning sauce.
  • When the pan/grate are nice and hot place the snapper on and cook, flesh side down for 12 minutes.
Snapper fillets going in the oven
Snapper fillets coming out of the oven.

Plating The Meal

Put a dollop of the 3 Pepper Cilantro-Lime Sauce on a plate, place a snapper fillet on it and top with a generous drizzle of the sauce. Add your sides (I went with a Creamy Parmesan Orzo and fresh green beans) and get your dish to the table.

Tight lines and Bon Appétit.