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 land-locked 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.
