African Pompano with Tropical Fruit Salsa

Give pompano a quick saute in the pan and top it with tropical fruit and you have a memorable meal that you won’t find in any restaurant. The fruit emphasizes the natural sweetness of the pompano. You won’t find these in a supermarket freezer but occasionally, we get them fresh from Florida in the market. If you see them, buy them! If you don’t find pompano but you can’t wait to try this recipe, snapper (especially mangrove) will work well as a substitute, and you can use store-bought Mojo marinade to speed things up. 

Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

freshly ground black pepper

4 6-oz. pompano fillets

1/4 cup coconut oil or other mild oil

cooked rice

Tropical Fruit Sauce
2 cups sliced tropical fruit, using any combination of mangoes, banana and pineapple

1 red or green serrano chile, thinly sliced

4 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/8 teaspoon (large pinch) each ground allspice and cinnamon

salt to taste

chopped cilantro for garnish

Mix marinade ingredients and marinate fish fillets for 20 minutes.

Shake off excess marinade and pan fry fillets in hot coconut oil over medium heat.

Allow about 8 minutes per inch of thickness (measuring thickest part of fillet), turning fillets over half-way through cooking.

While fillets are cooking, sauté fruit and serrano chile in butter about 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not allow to over-cook and become mushy.

Gently stir in lime juice, allspice and cinnamon. Salt to taste.

Serve over rice cooked with turmeric or Sazón seasoning. Spoon fruit over fish. Garnish with cilantro.

Lighthouse Seafood is a family business,
owned and operated by Tim, Heather and Danny O’Leary.
They have supplied Central Florida restaurants and residents
with prime seafood for more than a decade.
Their commitment is to always have
only the freshest seafood for your table.

101 N. Country Club Rd.
Lake Mary, FL 32746
407.330.2425

8780 E CR 466
The Villages, FL 32162
352.751.1755