Grilled fish with my secret green sauce

Tags

BBQ, braai, capers, cornichons, fish, green sauce, grilling, herbs, swordfish

Well, it was my “special, secret”sauce until now but I guess that by sharing it with you all out there, I can no longer call it that. It is such a tasty sauce that every time, I serve it, all my guests want the recipe and seeing as I have given it out so many times over the years, it is now time to share it with all my blog readers. And, you will love it, I am sure of it, and it can become your “secret” sauce.

Any nice, firm, white fish can be used for this dish. My favourite fish to use is swordfish, but unfortunately my fishmonger did not have any and he suggested a beautiful piece of halibut instead, which worked very well.  The special thing about this recipe is of course my “secret green sauce” as my daughter used to call it. The sauce that I make has the most wonderful earthy and piquant flavours that derive from the capers and cornichons and tastes of the South of France and the Mediterranean. Do use small french cornichons as they have a great punch and good quality capers. It has such a fresh and zesty taste and works well with chicken breasts as well as fish but I especially love it with grilled fish. I served the fish with a fresh spinach and potato salad dressed with a light tzaziki dressing.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

marinade
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

sauce
1/2 cup very finely chopped fresh parsley
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
About 8 small cornichons, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

4 swordfish steaks or halibut fillets or other firm, white fish

Preparation:
Marinade: In a small bowl, mix the garlic, shallots, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt
and pepper
Slowly add the olive oil and whisk until well blended
Place the fish fillets in a dish or ziplock bag
Pour the marinade over the fish and ensure evenly coated
Refrigerate for at least 2 but no more than 4 hours
Sauce: in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined, set aside
Prepare your barbecue for medium heat grilling
Remove the fish from the marinade and grill it, turning only once for about 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your fish
Transfer the fish to a platter or plates and serve with a heaped tablespoon of the “secret, green” sauce
Enjoy!

note: the sauce can be prepared several hours in advance and kept covered at room temperature. It can also be refrigerated for 2 days but bring to room temperature before serving.

I realise there are lots of almost identical pics but I could not decide on my favourite so I am sharing them all with you.

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Tequila lime prawns

Tags

braai, grilling, lime, mexican, prawns, Seafood, shrimp, tequila

This is a great summer time grilling recipe. Serve it as part of a Mexican inspired meal.

Begin with frosty margaritas and guacamole salsa with crisp tortilla chips then follow with the prawns and a salad made with rice or couscous, delicious, light and so very tasty.
If using bamboo skewers, remember to soak them in water for about 30 minutes prior to using them to prevent them burning on the grill.

Serve with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or a French Chablis.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 kg / 2 lbs medium prawns in the shell (about 8 to 10 per person)
marinade:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
1/2 cup tequila
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Remove the head of the prawns and clean them by cutting down the shell on the back and removing the black thread – leave the shell and tail
Prepare the marinade:
Whisk together the lime juice, tequila, garlic, shallots, cumin and salt and pepper
Slowly add the olive oil, whisking until combined
Pour over the shrimp and let marinade in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes but no longer than 4 hours (I often put them in a zip lock bag)
Thread the prawns onto the skewers (4 to 5 per skewer)
Prepare the barbecue for medium heat grilling
Grill the skewers, turning once, until pink and cooked, about 3 minutes a side (depends on size of prawns)
Serve immediately with lime slices for garnish
Enjoy!

 

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Sosaties – South African lamb kebabs

Tags

apricot marinade, barbecue, braai, grilling, lamb kekab, rainbow nation, sosatie, South Africa

This is a delicious spicy yet sweet recipe for kebabs; it can be made with chicken, beef or pork even, although traditionally sosaties are made with lamb and originate from the Cape Malays. No real South African braai is complete without sosaties and boerewors, a type of sausage, (but that is another post maybe). I had invited my neighbors for dinner last night and wanted to make something different so I decided on a South African BBQ. They are French, Parisians in fact, who have a holiday home in the Dordogne and are simply the nicest people you can imagine. Parisians often have the reputation for being unfriendly, well if that is the case, the Leger family did not get the message because they are incredibly friendly. One could not ask for better neighbors.To be honest, I lived in Paris for 5 years and hardly knew my neighbors, so maybe being in the countryside has something to do with it, who knows, but I am not complaining. They insisted on bringing dessert which was the most delicious homemade chocolate cake served with creme anglaise, a light custard. The cake was like a souffle, all gooey goodness in the inside, absolutely delicious. Diana had even decorated the top with icing sugar and made the letter T for Travers, the name of our house. How thoughtful can you get?

I am going over to their house this afternoon to learn how to cook foie gras, I cannot wait and will most definitely add a post about that soon. But, back to our dinner and the sosaties. The meat needs to be marinated for at least 24 hours to soak up all the spicy sweet goodness so the previous day I went to visit my butcher who deboned a leg of lamb for me and cut it up into squares of about 2 1/2 cm / 1 inch. Back home, I prepared the marinade, let it cool completely, about 3 hours, and poured the marinade over the meat before placing it in the refrigerator overnight. When we were ready to cook, I simply threaded the meat onto skewers, about 4 pieces to a skewer and voila, ready to pop onto the grill. You can serve the remaining marinade with the kebabs if you want extra spice and flavor. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos as we were too busy having a great time but I will make it again soon and add them. Promise.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg / 3 pounds lamb cut up
1 large red pepper
1 onion
12 dried yet plump apricots
marinade:
3 small onions, diced
1-2 small chili peppers
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil
2 Tablespoons/ 30 g curry powder (depends on the strength)
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons coriander
10 dried apricots, cut into tiny pieces
175 ml/ 3/4 cup apricot jam
50 g / 1/4 cup light brown sugar
150 ml / 2/3 cup white vinegar
300 ml / 1 1/4 cup water

 

Preparation:

Cut the meat, or better yet, ask your butcher to do it for you into 2 1/2 cm/ 1 inch cubes
Set aside while you prepare the marinade
Peel and dice the onions
Cut up the peppers finely. If you cannot find fresh peppers, you may use a large pinch of chili flakes
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and chili until they are just translucent
Add the curry, turmeric, bay leaves, ginger and coriander and allow to cook for a minute
Add the apricots and all the remaining ingredients and leave to simmer about 15 minutes
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, about 3 hours
When cool, add the marinade to the meat and place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours
Now cut the apricots in half lengthwise and cube the peppers and onions to the same size as the meat cubes and apricots
When ready to grill, thread four meat pieces alternating with red pepper, onion and apricot to make a sosatie
Remember to soak the skewers first if you are using wooden ones so that they do not burn
Heat the BBQ to about 250 Celsius/ 500 Fahrenheit
Cook the kebabs about 10 to 15 minutes
Turn several times to make the edges golden
Boil the rest of the marinade, simmer 5 minutes and serve with the sosaties if you wish a bit more spice and bite

Enjoy!

Wine suggestion: Viognier or Chenin Blanc go well with this spicy dish but if you prefer a red, Shiraz or Grenache are equally good choices