We grew, raised and harvested beautiful produce, meats and poultry on the farm. While none of us could truly be considered a forager, my dad did enjoy hunting game birds. He relished the time spent with his brothers and his various hunting dogs, and our plates were occasionally graced with quail and pheasant. No one in any fairness though, could be called a fisherman. I vaguely remember one family reunion held at Kentucky Lake. After a long day spent on the lake bristling with poles, bait, and boasting, fish landed at the kitchen door, suspiciously cleaned and wrapped professionally in butcher paper…
The fact that we lacked fresh fish did not deter my mother in any way. Now, this was the sixties. I cannot imagine that anyone was prattling on about Omega-3s and the need to eat fish on a regular basis, yet somehow this belief was firmly fixed in my mother’s menu planning philosophy. (Along with liver on a weekly basis, which is another story.) Most of the time I consider my mom to be a fairly inspired cook for the era. Her preparation of fish was not one of those shining moments.
Neither was the frozen fish available at the grocer’s anything like today’s frozen fish. No flash freezing on the boat or vacuum sealing for this catch. It was harvested, delivered ashore at some point, and eventually transported to a processing facility. No matter the variety, it all came out in identical cardboard packages, long and rectangular, with a stylized image of supposedly whatever fish was inside. When thawed, it was limp and soggy, any semblance of firm cellular structure long gone. In retrospect, how inspired could a dinner be which starred this sad protein?
The weekly preparation was always the same. The fillets were baked in the oven with a bit of butter, lemon, dried herb and sliced olives. That was it. It’s pretty easy to understand how a Midwestern farm girl could decide that seafood wasn’t really food worth eating. Which was the attitude I carried with me when I left the farm for the big wide world. Save the ocean-don’t eat fish!
Fortunately the seafood menu offered by the big wide world considerably expanded my view of how delicious fish could be. From the eastern seaboard to the coasts of Oregon, California, Mexico and Italy; from the isles of Fiji, New Zealand and Thailand, I’ve enjoyed freshly prepared seafood in a multitude of preparations. Now when eating out, a firm menu choice must wait until I hear a description of the daily seafood special. More often than not, that will be what I order.
While I live in a desert, large bodies of fish bearing saltwater are closer to me now than when growing up on the farm. I am lucky indeed to have several high quality fishmongers within fifteen minutes of my home, with firm, plump selections of fresh seafood. Fish and/or seafood are now on the menu at least once, sometimes twice, in the week. Grilled, broiled, pan sautéed, and steamed, but uh… not baked. While baking fish could perhaps be successful, my memory of baked fish leaves something to be desired…
Which brings me to the fish we are serving this evening. White fish like halibut are like blank canvasses, just waiting for someone to spice them up. Which is precisely what jerk seasoning does. And of course once you’ve gone the jerked route, hot and sweet salsa on top is an absolute necessity. The black rice underneath is the perfect complement, nutty and chewy.
While grilling is a year round option in the southwest, this recipe is traditional hot weather fare in most locales. The fruits used in the salsa are classic summer varieties too, so now is the time to get grilling. You can catch it or buy it, just don’t bake it!
Jerk Halibut with Fruit Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. halibut filets/steaks or other meaty fish suitable for the grill
- 2 teaspoons jerk seasoning purchased or homemade
- Fruit Salsa
- 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
- 1 ripe mango peeled and diced
- 2 Kiwi fruit peeled and diced
- 4 large strawberries hulled and diced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ½ jalapeno pepper seeded and diced (leave the seeds in if more heat is desired)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup forbidden black rice or other rice of choice
Instructions
- Prepare a gas or charcoal grill to a medium hot flame. Sprinkle the fish with the jerk seasoning and rub in. Store in refrigerator until ready to grill.
- Prepare the rice according to package directions.
- Combine all ingredients for the fruit salsa in a medium bowl, stirring well. Set aside until ready to serve.
- When the rice is done, set aside to steam in the pan while the fish is cooked. Place the pieces of fish on the grill grate directly over the fire. Grill to doneness preferred. A general rule for cooking fish is to allow ten minutes per inch of thickness. If the surface appears grilled before the center is done to your liking, move the fish to the edges of the grill to slow the cooking.
- To serve, plate individual servings of rice. Place a fish filet atop each serving of rice and ladle on generous spoonsful of fruit salsa.
Thank once again! The recipe sounds wonderful.
Your written piece also brought back memories of growing up on Lake Erie, LONG before the days of algae blooms, and having available a seemingly endless supply of a variety of fresh fish.