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Grouper Matecumbe is fresh baked grouper topped with a tomato, basil, caper, shallot and key lime sauce. It’s absolutely delicious and very easy to make.
My mother has been making this grouper recipe for decades. She originally acquired the recipe from The Fish House restaurant in the Florida Keys and then added her own twist to it. This dish is simple and one of the best ways to prepare grouper in my opinion. It’s a super grouper slam dunk.
Grouper Matecumbe is a healthy dish and is gluten free. It follows the Mediterranean diet and its low in carbohydrates. The Mediterranean diet is one of the best diets to follow. It promotes eating fish 2x a week and limiting red meat and sugars while staying away from heavily processed foods.
If you don’t have access to fresh or frozen grouper, then you can substitute another type of white fish in this dish. Mahi, cod, halibut, snapper and even tilapia will be great with this.
I have some other seafood recipes to try like this fish coconut curry recipe that works with most types of seafood or my creamy Cajun salmon and Tuscan salmon recipes.
What is Grouper Matecumbe?
Simply put, grouper matecumbe is pan seared or broiled fresh grouper topped with a salsa of chopped tomatoes, basil, shallot, capers, olive oil and lime juice. This recipe can be pan seared and finished off in a 450-degree oven or completely broiled until fish is cooked through.
I pair my grouper matecumbe with brown rice and steamed broccoli. Let me know what you think! Its ohhh soooo good!
How to make Grouper Matecumbe
This grouper matecumbe recipe only takes 15 minutes of cook time, but it does take roughly 2 hours to make. You see, the marinade or salsa is the most important part. It needs to come together, to marry, to tango for at least a couple of hours or overnight in order to develop its flavors. You can definitely make this without the 2-hour tango but it’s just not gonna be as good. Trust me, these scrumptious flavors need to mingle for a bit.
Simply chop the tomatoes, shallot, and basil and add to a bowl. Add the capers, olive oil and lime juice and stir it all to combine. Let this salsa marinate for at least 2 hours.
Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper and pan sear in a tbsp of butter on medium heat. Flip fish after 3-4 minutes or when it gets a nice sear to it. After that you top it with as much salsa as you like (I like a lot) and then pop it into a 400-degree oven. Cook until fish flakes when stuck with a fork, it was about 5 minutes for mine, but I did not have a really thick piece of grouper. I turned the broiler on at the very end and broiled it for a couple minutes being very careful not to burn it.
I hope you love this baked grouper recipe as much as my family does!
Options
Fresh grouper is what I use in Grouper Matecumbe but mahi, cod, tilapia, halibut or snapper could be substituted if grouper is not available in your area. I bet this would be fantastic on shrimps too. Frozen fish can be used as well.
Additionally, Key limes are not easy to find unless you are in Florida, so a regular lime or lemon works great here too.
My mother broils her Grouper Matecumbe in the oven. Sadly, my broiler will not allow for that, it cooks entirely too hot. I pan sear my fish first in butter and then add the salsa and bake for a few minutes.
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER DELICIOUS RECIPES!
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GROUPER MATECUMBE
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
- 2 tbsp Shallot diced
- 1 oz Basil, fresh sliced
- 3-4 tbsp Capers
- 4 Key Limes or 2 Limes juiced
- ⅓ cup Olive oil
- Salt/pepper
- 4 filet White fish Grouper, mahi, snapper, tilapia
- 2 tbsp Butter
Instructions
- Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl and let marinate for 1+ hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Season fish fillets with salt and pepper. Add butter to skillet and sauté for 4 mins per side or until golden.
- Top fish with the marinade and place in oven for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Broil for 1 minute to brown the top (optional).
Notes
