One of the great ways of cooking fish on a barbecue or under a grill is to wrap the fish, giving it some protection against the fierce heat and allowing any additional flavourings to work their magic within the "parcel". The result is a moist, well cooked and well flavoured fish!
Ingredients
4 red mullet approx 350 - 400 g each, gutted and scaled
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 spring onions - finely chopped
1 teaspoon mustard powder
8 vine leaves in brine, drained
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs of dill
sea salt and black pepper
lemon to garnish
Firstly place 4 pieces of cooking string (about 30 cm) in length in cold water and soak for at least 10 minutes (this stops the string from burning during cooking).
Now mix the olive oil, the lemon juice, the finely chopped spring onions, mustard powder and salt and pepper in a bowl, and set aside.
Take the vine leaves, wash and arrange in over-lapping pairs, creating a surface big enough to cover the fish.
Take each of the red mullet, and make shallow slashes down each side, and rub them with the mix above, ensuring the flavouring gets into the slashes. Stuff the belly cavities with a bay leaf and a sprig of dill.
Now let's make the parcels by wrapping each fish in the over-lapping vine leaves. Brush the outside of the vine leaves with the olive oil and lemon juice, and secure the vine leaves with the soaked cooking string.
When the barbecue or grill is sufficiently hot, cook the fish for 4 to 5 minutes on each side (adjust for the size of the fish). It may be necessary to brush the leaves with the oil/lemon mix once or twice.
The leaves will become lightly charred. After cooking each side remove the fish carefully and allow to rest for several minutes - the smell at this stage will be tantalising!
Cut the string and remove the vine leaves, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and lemon juice and serve with perhaps a tomato or green salad.
This is a great lunch, especially with a nice chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc !
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