The Chef: Fermín Nuñez
His Restaurant Suerte in Austin, Texas
What He’s Known For Smart, elevated takes on Mexican cooking. Perfecting the art of the tortilla.
AT SUERTE in Austin, Texas, the masa dough for the tortillas is made fresh every day. “It’s the backbone of Mexican cuisine,” said chef Fermín Nuñez.
His first Slow Food Fast recipe calls for a stack of warm corn tortillas, and what goes with them has become another Suerte signature, called Fish a la Devil. Flaky roast fish—Mr. Nuñez suggests branzino or pompano—is served atop a chile-spiked tomato sauce dotted with buttery Castelvetrano olives. Charring the tomatoes gives the sauce a nice smoky depth.
Mr. Nuñez recommends seeking out freshly made tortillas, if at all possible. At the table, diners can pile them as they please with the fish and sauce, then garnish with punchy quick-pickled shallots and a drizzle of rich avocado salsa. The result: fish tacos of a higher order.
TOTAL TIME 35 minutes SERVES 4
4 branzino or pompano fillets
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, peeled
4 Roma tomatoes, halved and cored
Kosher salt
1½ garlic cloves, sliced
1 serrano chile, sliced into rounds
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup pitted and roughly chopped Castelvetrano olives
¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 cup distilled white vinegar
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime, plus 1 lime, quartered
1 teaspoon sugar
1 avocado
8 warm corn tortillas
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Season fish with salt and 1 tablespoon oil. Roast until flesh flakes easily when pressed, about 7 minutes.
2. Set a large, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Place 1 whole shallot and whole tomatoes in dry pan. Cook, turning occasionally, until blackened all over, about 5 minutes total. Transfer blackened vegetables to a food processor and purée until smooth, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Thinly slice remaining shallot. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in chiles, tomato paste and half the sliced shallots. Cook until shallots soften, about 2 minutes. Pour in tomato-shallot purée and simmer until thickened to a dense sauce, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in olives and cilantro. Season with salt.
4. In a small pot, combine vinegar, lime zest, sugar and a pinch of salt. Set pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add remaining sliced shallots and simmer until softened, about 2 minutes. Let shallots cool and drain before serving.
5. In a clean food processor, purée avocado with a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil and lime juice until smooth.
6. To serve, spoon tomato sauce onto four plates and top each with a fish fillet. Top fish with pickled shallots and serve with lime wedges, avocado purée and warm tortillas on the side.
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