Escoveitched Fish

"Escoveitch" comes fromescabeche, Spanish for "pickled." There are many variationsof this Jamaican recipe, popular in Cayman too, that evolved froma centuries old Spanish and Portuguese method of preparing seafoodand poultry. Tilapia is perfect for this delicious, spicy recipethat's popular all day long, from breakfast to late night snack.You can also use cleaned small whole fish such as grunts or snappers,or any kind of fish fillets or steaks, such as wahoo or dolphin.It should be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated to get themaximum flavor from spices, but served at room temperature. Oldrecipes tell you not to refrigerate the fish, to let it marinateat room temperature, but I think this is risky anywhere, especiallyin the tropics.

4-6 ounce Tilapia filets
4 Cayman (key) limes
1/2 cup flour
Ground black pepper
Seasoned salt
Peanut oil (for frying)

Marinade:
1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Tortuga Hell-Fire Hot Pepper Sauce
OR minced, seeded Scotch Bonnet pepper to taste
1 medium carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 small cho-cho (Chayote), peeled and cut into strips
2 medium onions, sliced into thin rings
12 whole allspice berries
8 whole black peppercorns

Rinse the Tilapia filets with waterand sprinkle generously with lime juice. Let sit for 20 minutes.Pat dry and sprinkle each piece generously with seasoned saltand black pepper. Pour the flour into a shallow bowl and dredgeeach piece lightly, shaking off excess. Set aside. Heat about1/2 inch of peanut oil in a frying pan until hot (but not smoking)and fry fish until light golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.Remove fish and drain on paper towels, then arrange in a singlelayer in glass or plastic dish.
Marinade: Combine all remaining ingredients, from vinegar to blackpeppercorns, in saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heatto medium and simmer for about five minutes until vegetables beingto soften.. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm, about 20 minutes,then pour the marinade over the fish. (If you add it while stillvery hot, it will cook the fish more and turn it to mush.) Arrangefish so all pieces are evenly covered with mixture. Allow to marinatefor at least eight hours or overnight in refrigerator, but serveat room temperature.