Corvina Fish Recipe with Citrus Salsa

Pan-seared corvina fish recipe with citrus salsa is restaurant-quality food at home. This gorgeous, quick and easy dinner is ready in under thirty minutes, which makes it perfect for midweek meals.

A light and nutritious dinner, buttery corvina is topped with a bright citrus salsa. Serve it with a quinoa salad and sautéed broccolini to make it a complete meal.

Corvina fish recipes

If you have recently discovered corvina, then you already know how good it is. If you’ve never had this fish before, put it on your shopping list now. Corvina has become a favorite around here  and is the most requested fish over every other kind of seafood.

The first corvina recipe showed up on this blog a number of years ago. I did a Coconut Curry Corvina served on top of potatoes. It is absolutely scrumptious. The sauce is killer and not a drop goes to waste. We swipe pieces of potato through it to get every last bit.

Last month, I made a Baked Corvina with Tomatoes that was also quite tasty. It is completely different from the other corvina recipes here. It has more of a Mediterranean feel to it.

In my humble opinion, corvina is what I would consider the perfect fish. It is mild and not at all fishy-tasting, so it is pleasing to those who don’t like strong-tasting fish. The flesh separates into big, meaty chunks instead of flaking into tiny pieces. It is a substantial piece of fish that can be flavored a hundred different ways.

Pan Seared Corvina fish recipe

Who says you can’t make gorgeous, restaurant-quality food at home? In about 30 minutes, you could be sitting down to this dinner and your friends/family/dinner guests will be super impressed.

All you need for this recipe is a non-stick skillet, a sharp knife and a fish spatula. This recipe is so easy, but it looks like you worked REALLY hard on it. Let’s be honest, those are the best kinds of recipes. Everyone thinks you’ve spent half the day in the kitchen and they’re singing your praises, but you and I know that it only took as long as an episode of Friends.

How to cook corvina fish

First things first – how to tell the pretty side (or top) from the bottom side (the side that faces the plate). This handy photos shows you how to tell the difference. You want to present the nice side up, so flip the fish over and look at both sides before you put it in the pan.

Once we’ve gotten that cleared up, slide the fish into a hot non-stick pan with a bit of olive oil and let it sear. After a few minutes,it will form a light brown crust. It is time to flip it over and cook it through. In about 10 minutes, the fish has cooked and you are ready to garnish and eat.

More seafood recipes we’re enjoying right now: Langostino Macaroni and Cheese / Baked Parmesan Crab Dip (from TSCCB) /  Brown Sugar Bourbon Salmon

Citrus Salsa

As you can see, I left my citrus segments whole. This was on purpose. The larger pieces looked nicer on the fish than smaller chunks. You don’t have to leave yours whole. If you prefer to dice them up, go for it. Sometimes I dice everything up and sometimes I don’t, it depends on how I want it to look.

Also, feel free to use ANY citrus you like. If you don’t like grapefruit, don’t use it. Add in more oranges or even tangerines. This is totally personal preference. If you find the combination too tart, add in a teaspoon of honey to sweeten it up just a bit.

One thing I do recommend is this – squeeze a lime over your diced red onions and let them hang out in the juice for about 10 minutes before you add them to the citrus. It will take the bite out of the onions. 

I do segment the citrus for this, but again, you don’t have to. It only takes a few minutes and it looks nice, so I do it. I made a short video for you demonstrating how to supreme citrus fruit. It’s really easy and it makes you look like a culinary badass, so why not do it?

Corvina with Citrus Salsa

When you are choosing the citrus fruits for your salsa, try to mix a few colors, it will look better than one single color. Even if you only choose oranges, get a blood orange if it is in season. Try to add cara cara oranges, clementines or tangerines as well for different shades of orange.

For my salsa, I used ruby red grapefruit, navel orange, lime and lemon. The mix of colors make this visually stunning with the white flesh of the fish. A bit of purple peeking out and a sprinkle of green tie it all together for a colorful and beautiful dish.

Please share!

Your shares help this site to grow. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

Corvina Fish Recipe with Citrus Salsa

Cheryl Bennett

A quick and easy corvina fish recipe that looks impressive enough for dinner parties. Served with a bright citrus salsa, this meal is as delicious as it is beautiful.

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Calories 374 kcal

Equipment

• Wusthof Gourmet Offset Slotted Spatula, 6-1/2-Inch

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Citrus Salsa

• 1 small ruby red grapefruit
• 1 small navel orange
• 2 limes
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 small red onion diced small
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Corvina

• 2 pieces corvina 5 ounces each, about 1" thick
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

 

• Make salsaPeel and segment grapefruit, orange, lemon and one lime (chop if desired).
• Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine in small bowl and set aside.
• Squeeze remaining lime over red onion in a separate bowl and let it sit in the juice for 10 minutes while you cook the fish.
• Make corvinaIn a non-stick pan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium high heat.
• Sprinkle both pieces of fish with salt, pepper and minced garlic.
• Carefully place fish in pan, laying it away from you, not toward you. Cook undisturbed for 4 minutes.
• Turn heat down to medium and gently turn fish over using a fish spatula. Cook for an additional 4 - 5 minutes until fish is opaque and flesh is just beginning to separate.
• Remove from heat and let fish rest for a few minutes while you finish the salsa.
• Drain lime juice from onions, add onions to citrus. Mix to combine, add parsley and place on top of each piece of corvina. Serve immediately.

Notes

Laying the fish away from you instead of toward your body will ensure that you won't get splashed with oil if it happens to splatter when it is going into the hot pan.

Your fish may be done anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of the fillets and the heat of your pan. When the fish looks like it has turned white all the way through, pull it off the heat.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 36gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 1292mgFiber: 7gSugar: 15g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!