Showing posts with label Swordfish Brochettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swordfish Brochettes. Show all posts

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Skewer It!

 From espetones to pinchitos, kebabs to brochettes, satay to kefta, foods cooked on skewers are favorite fare right around the world. They may have been invented for easy cooking over a wood fire, but brochettes are especially adaptable to pan-grilling in the kitchen. This makes them perfect for winter when the gas barbecue on the patio has been stored for the season.


Marinated swordfish grills on a plancha.
Plancha means “metal plate.” (The same word is used for an “iron” for pressing clothing.) The kitchen plancha is a griddle or cast-iron grill pan that sets over the stovetop burner. It can be reversible, ridged on one side, flat on the other. Modern versions are electric and have no-stick surfaces. 

How to grill on a plancha: Place the plancha over high heat until very hot, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with coarse salt (same procedure whether using a flat or ridged grill pan). Place food to be grilled on the plancha. Keep the heat on high to get a good sear on the food. Don’t move it around. Turn the food when the bottom is browned.

 Be sure to turn on the extractor fan to draw out the smoke from grilling. If you don’t have a plancha, substitute a large cast iron skillet. Use any type of skewer that fits the grill surface—metal or bamboo. Bamboo skewers are usually soaked in water before use to prevent their scorching.

Skewered and grilled foods usually benefit from a marinade. They may or may not be served with a sauce. Those espetones—whole sardines threaded on skewers and grilled at the beach—for instance, need only a squeeze of lemon. 

Easy meal--skewered swordfish, side dish of cous cous. The cous cous can be served hot or cold, like a tabouleh salad.



Swordfish Brochettes
Brochetas de Pez Espada

If swordfish is not available, any “meaty,” solid-fleshed fish can be substituted. Possibilities are monkfish (rape); dogfish shark (cazón), tuna (atún or bonito) or salmon. 

Garlic, parsley, lemon and cumin for marinade.
Makes 7 or 8 brochettes.

1 ¼  pounds swordfish fillets or steaks
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped parsley
3 cloves chopped garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin 
Onions cut in wedges stem to root
Lemon wedges to serve
Coarse salt (for grill-pan)
Quick marinade adds flavor.

Remove skin and center bone from swordfish. Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle it with salt.

In a bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, parsley, garlic, oil, lemon juice, pepper, and cumin.  Add the swordfish cubes and mix gently. Cover and marinate, refrigerated, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

Thread fish on bamboo skewers.

Remove swordfish from the marinade, saving the marinade. Thread 3 or 4 cubes of fish on skewers, alternating with onion wedges.

Heat a grill-pan. Brush the brochettes with some of the remaining marinade. If using a grill, stick a lemon wedge on a fork to wipe the grill rack to prevent the fish from sticking. If using a grill-pan, sprinkle it with coarse salt. Grill until fish is lightly browned on one side. Brush with any remaining marinade and turn the brochettes. Grill until done on reverse side. Serve accompanied by lemon.




Lamb kebabs grilling on a plancha.
More ideas for skewered foods:





Saturday, August 29, 2015

THE LAST GRILL OF SUMMER?

Fire up the grill! It’s the last weekend of August—occasion for, maybe, the last cookout of the season. The days are getting shorter, the evenings cooler (although the mosquitos haven't abated yet). Soon I’ll be happy to turn on the oven again. But, for now, it’s a grilling feast.

 

Meal on the grill--swordfish kebabs, chicken, foil-wrapped ribs and, tucked into the coals, potatoes and onions.

Even though there are only four of us for dinner, I’m making two racks of spareribs, a small chicken and swordfish brochettes. Wrapped in foil and tucked into the coals are potatoes and small, sweet onions. Some tiny eggplant from the garden will be grilled, whole, when the meat comes off. Split open, they need only salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil for a sensational side dish.

I’ve got a huge sack of carbon de encina, charcoal made from wild holm oak, to supplement the olive wood sticks. They make fragrant coals. A twig of rosemary adds a piney aroma.

The ribs I marinate in garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and Sherry vinegar for several hours. I wrap them in foil and grill about 20 minutes per side or until tender. I remove the foil and brush them with a barbecue sauce—Spanish molasses, ketchup, more garlic and vinegar. The grill meister (son Ben) lets the ribs glaze, about 5 minutes per side.

The chicken, a wee bird, is spatchcocked (backbone removed and breastbone slightly flattened). It marinates in the same garlic-thyme-parsley-vinegar mix as the ribs. The chicken needs only about 15 minutes per side over direct heat. (I’m thinking, this grilled chicken is going to be great cut up and folded in pita with tahina for tomorrow night’s dinner.)

The swordfish brochettes are a treat. Many years ago swordfish was very common in local (Mediterranean) fish markets, displayed on the slab in its enormous entirety, including the impressive head with its “sword.” I cooked it frequently.  Now, I find swordfish only in pre-cut steaks and I’m never sure where it’s coming from. (This is labeled—it comes from the southeast Atlantic and has been flash-frozen and defrosted for sale.) In Spanish, swordfish is pez espada, aguja palá, espardate or emperador.

Cubes of swordfish skewered with tomato, onion, pepper.

This is one of the ways I learned to cook swordfish way back in the village tapa bar where I learned Spanish cooking. In the kitchen there, the kebabs were laid on top of the gas flame. They can also be cooked on a plancha (griddle) or, best, on a wood-fired grill.

How long to grill them? Obviously, it depends on the fire. These needed about 5 minutes per side (the grill rack is not close to the coals).

The vegetables may not be done in the time it takes to grill the swordfish. If you prefer the onions and peppers cooked softer, skewer them separately and give them more time on the grill.


Swordfish Brochettes
Brochetas de Pez Espada


If swordfish is not available, any “meaty,” solid-fleshed fish can be substituted. Possibilities are monkfish (rape); dogfish shark (cazón) or tuna (atún or bonito).

To make 5 or 6 brochettes:

1 ¼  pounds swordfish fillets or steaks
Salt
1/3 cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (5 cloves)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Red pepper flakes (optional)
¼ teaspoon cumin (optional)
Tomatoes cut in wedges
Onions cut in wedges stem to root
Green peppers cut in squares
Lemon wedges


Remove skin and center bone from swordfish. Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle it with salt.

In a bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, parsley, garlic, oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and cumin, if using. Add the swordfish cubes and mix gently. Cover and marinate, refrigerated, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

Remove swordfish from the marinade, saving the marinade. Thread the cubes on metal skewers, alternating with tomato wedges, onions and green pepper.

Light a grill. Before placing the brochettes on the grill, brush them with some of the remaining marinade. Use a lemon wedge stuck on a fork to wipe the grill rack (prevents sticking). Grill until fish is lightly browned on one side. Brush with any remaining marinade and turn the brochettes. Grill until done on reverse side. Serve accompanied by lemon.

Marinated swordfish doesn't need a sauce.