Recipes by Zola - Fish filets with Mojo de Ajo sauce

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Fish filets with Mojo de Ajo sauce

Zola Gorgon

The Magic of Mojo...

Last week we gathered several members of our office team for a planning meeting. One of the main topics was to define the "mojo" of our company. When defining a company's mojo, you're looking for the "soul" of the company. You want to know what makes your company magical and sets it apart from your competition. The meeting went very well.

What really struck me was when I got home and read my Zola email. There was one particular email where a reader named Helen was asking me if I could find a recipe. The dish was called Mojo de Ajo. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the email. She had eaten the dish at a restaurant called Daddy's in South Padre, Texas. I can imagine that Daddy's is one cool joint.

Here I'd been working all day on defining mojo. Then I come back to my office and this woman wants me to find mojo for her. The fact that they are not pronounced the same didn't lessen the serendipity of the moment. How many times in a lifetime do you run into the word mojo; let alone twice in one day!

So I had to take the "bait". I decided to make up my own rendition of Mojo de Ajo. The one Helen was seeking was a blackened fish filet with Mojo de Ajo sauce. Frankly, the sauce was not difficult for me to find. Challenge was the sauce is customarily served with vegetables; specifically yucca.

I love blackened fish so I had no problem joining the two. In the recipe you are about to experience I decided to tone down the blackening part. Most folks don't have the equipment to blacken fish without filling their kitchen with a smoky steam that lingers for days. My Madison kitchen has a professional fan system so I can suck that telltale smell out with the flip of a switch. I love that system, and I put it in the kitchen specifically for blackened fish, which was particularly popular about the time we built that house.

This is an easy dish to make. I will warn you that it's FULL of flavor. The garlic breath it will produce could potentially linger for days; just like the blackening spice effect. I can still taste last night's effort even though I've brushed my teeth twice this morning already. The mouthwash and then the syrup from breakfast haven't even quite toned it down yet. Helen must love garlic and onions!

I hope you do too.

Fish filets with Mojo de Ajo sauce (hot garlic and onion dressing)
Serves 4

5 to 7 whole garlic cloves. Peeled, crushed and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 Tbl of fresh lime juice
4 fish filets. I used sole but you could also use red snapper, trout, tilapia, catfish, or several others.
Flour for dusting the fish
Paprika, salt, pepper and/or blackening spice mix to taste
1 Tbl of butter
1 Tbl of olive oil

For the "sauce":

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic. Sauté on medium for less than a minute. Don't brown the garlic or it begins to taste burned. Add the onions. You are just barely going to heat them. They will still be springy to the touch and not weathered and wilted. Then immediately add the lime juice and stir. Take off the heat. Add a bit of salt if it pleases you. Now turn to the fish.

I don't make the fish until everything else is done because you want to eat this dish as soon as the fish comes out of the pan.

For the fish:

In a ziplock bag, put in a few Tbl of white flour. Add each fish fillet one at a time and toss to lightly dust the filet with the flour. Remove and set aside. Do the other filets the same way. Then sprinkle salt, pepper and your spices on the fish. If you don't want any "spice/heat" from the fish just sprinkle on paprika to give it some color. If you want blackened flavor add the blackening spices on the top of the fish filets. Gently press your spice mixture so it adheres to the fish.

Heat the butter and olive oil in the pan. When melted and mixed add the fish filets spice-side down. Sauté on medium high for up to 3 minutes. This thin fish does not take long to cook. Then gently take a large spatula and turn the fish over. Cook on the other side just a minute until you are sure the fish is completely cooked. The final amount of time will depend on how thick your fish is. Check the fish to see if it is done by cutting a bit into the thickest part. If it's white and no raw parts are showing your fish is done.

Plate your fish and divide the sauce amongst the four dishes. You're all set.

I served this dish with sautéed red and yellow bell peppers for color and a sliced avocado half (per person) with a sprinkle of sea salt. One healthy meal.

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.

This news arrived on: 08/29/2008

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