The whole fish dish known as pescado a la talla, served at Gabriela Camara’s Contramar in Mexico City, truly transcends a fish lover’s dreams. There, seasoned fish, usually a butterflied red snapper, gets slathered on one side with a green parsley sauce and a red chile adobo on the other. A special filleting and butterflying technique renders the fish super easy to eat, sans any trace of bones. We dream of the sweet meat, perfectly seasoned, smoky from the grill.
In the landlocked Midwest, I do my best to approximate the flavors if not the experience. Our local fish markets usually offer small whole snapper, whole branzino, and rainbow trout. All are delicious with the help of a grill and a pair of salsas.
