Grilled swordfish with peach mixed salad and feta

Cookbook Challenge Week 5 – Greek

Cookbook Challenge Week 5 - Greek

Our kitchen is almost ready and amongst packing and cleaning, I decided that I will start the Cookbook Challenge this week. And boy did I pick a week and theme that I have very little knowledge about. It did not help when most of my cookbooks are still covered in dust and a little hard to get to. Those that are scattered in our bedroom are mostly Asian cookbooks. And apologies to all, I am just jumping straight into week 5. I wish I had time to complete 1 – 4 but with the house still in disarray and Christmas around the corner, it is a very tough call.

Anyway, the only book that I managed to pull out of the bookshelf was Rick Stein’s My Favourite Seafood Recipe. There was little Greek or Mediterranean type food in the book. A little desperate for a recipe, I took cue from one his recipes and it just had to make do for this week’s challenge. Plaice or flatfish was used in the book but decided that I would use swordfish instead. I love swordfish and it takes flavour very well. Feel free to use the fish of your choice but I do recommend white firm flesh.

Mister was painting in the background while I tried very hard to focus on the task at hand. I was still not used to the new kitchen and felt slightly disorganised. But I was determine to give this a go.

Red capsicum

Finely chopped oregano & garlic

Ingredients:

Grilled swordfish

• 2 pieces of swordfish
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 – 2 Chilli flakes or use 1 finely diced fresh chilli
• 2tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• 1tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt & black pepper
• Good olive oil

Marinated swordfish

Method:

1. Use a little olive oil and rub the red capsicum. Place it in a preheated oven of 220 for about 20mins or until skin is charred. I placed the roasted capsicum into a tuperwave and allow it to cool. It is very easy to peel off the skin and to remove the stem and seeds after.
2. Finely chop the peeled roasted capsicum and mix it with the finely chopped farlic, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil and season well to form the marinate for the fish
3. Slice the swordfish into 2 if it is too big, Lightly run your knife and making very fine slits on the flesh. Add the marinate and allow it to sit for at least an hour. Make sure that the marinate goes into the slits of the fish
4. Grill the marinated fish for about 6-8 mins. The timing may vary depending on the thickness of the fish. 1 min before it is ready, coat the top of the grilled fish with the remaining marinate and chuck it back into the grill

I thought a nice and refreshing salad could work well with this dish. Whether it is Greek influenced, you can be the judge of that

I like having fruits in salad. It is something that you will see a lot this summer from me.I bought goat cheese feta instead of Greek. I just love the creamy texture but it is very crumbly.

Ingredients:

Mixed salad leaves with peach and oregano feta

• 1/2 tbsp of freshly chopped oregano
• A sizeable chuck of goat cheese feta
• A big handful of mixed salad leaves
• 8-10 mint leaves
• 2tsp of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp good olive oil
• Black pepper

Marinated feta with oregano, olive oil and black pepper

Method:

1. Marinate the goat feta with chopped oregano, olive oil and black pepper. Set aside
2. De-seed and slice peach into 8 pieces
3. Put the salad together  when the grilled swordfish is ready. Mixed salad leaves, mint leaves, sliced peaches and feta and another good dosh of olive oil and black pepper. Toss lightly and serve with the fish

Grilled swordfish with peach salad and feta

The dish worked as a whole. The fish was moist and the marinate provided a great sauce. I did not know if the peach would work but it did. And surprisingly it went well with the goat feta. I was relieved that it came together at the end. I am not sure how Greek this is and I did not really follow the recipe and went my own way. Cookbooks to me is more of a guidance and an inspirational vehicle. It has been fun and it feels good being back in the kitchen

This is the list of recipes from fellow bloggers:

• Rilsta from My Food Trail – Moussaka
• Sarah from The Sugar Junkie – Chickpea & feta salad; marinated meats; Greek feta & vegetable pie; souvlaki
• Carolyn from Gluten Shmooten – Greek lamb with crispy potatoes
• Ange from Vicious Ange – Greek salad with pan fried haloumi
• Kate from Something by Kate – Oven baked fish with tomato & parsley
• Cherrie from Sweet Cherrie Pie – Mama Tahsia’s tzatziki; lamb souvlaki; flatbread
• Anthea from What’s For Tea? – Stuffed vegetables
• Leigh from Chit Chat Chomp – Peppered figs with haloumi; toursi (pickled vegetable)
• Jo from A Dash of Flavour – Lamb souvlaki
• Arale79 from Meals on Budget – Watermelon & feta salad
• Kat from Spatula, Spoon & Saturday – Semolina & yoghurt syrup cake with rosewater
• Jeff from Thermomixer – Thermomix wild weed pie
• Agnes from Off the Spork – Greek shortbread; lamb skewers with tzatziki
• Rizka from ini, itu – Aromatic peaches with sweetened Greek yogurt
• Shellie from Iron Chef Shellie – Moussaka

So tell me dear friends, is this anywhere near a Greek dish and how would you describe Greek cuisine or flavours?