This recipe, Swordfish & Pineapple Skewers with Hot & Sweet Relish, is more about the relish than the main ingredients, which barely get a quick dunk in a marinade. Without a doubt grilling is one of my favorite ways to cook food. Now that I have access to my grill again, and finally with the arrival of nice weather, there are endless possibilities for cooking my favorite foods. This one which I recently made, yields about 5-6 skewers, depending how much stuff you impale onto each one.
Ingredients
1 lb fresh swordfish steak, cut into large cubes
2 zucchini, 1 yellow and 1 green cut into thick slices
3-4 thick slices of fresh pineapple, cut into chunks (reserve the rest for relish, below)
6-8 small baby-bella (or button) mushroom caps
6 cherry tomatoes
Fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper for coating
Mint leaves for garnish
Alternate above ingredient chunks on metal skewers, topping each one with a cherry tomato. Place on a large platter or tray, drizzle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper, cover and set aside in refrigerator until ready to grill.
Sweet & Spicy Pineapple-Habañero Relish
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 fresh pineapple, diced small (3-4 slices reserved for skewers, above)
1 cup sweet corn
½ red pepper, diced small
4-5 habanero peppers, finely chopped (any color, or assorted)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
1 tsp star anise powder
½ cup red or white wine vinegar
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
Salt and pepper
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion, red pepper, ginger, habanero, star anise, and red pepper for about 5 minutes in the vegetable oil.
Pour the liquids in the saucepan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the pineapple, corn, lime juice, and sugar; bring to a simmer and then remove from heat. Mix in the mint and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes about 3 ½ cups; will keep in refrigerator for at least 1 week and freezes well. Can also be pureed in blender and used as a sauce or dip.
Grill the swordfish-pineapple skewers over medium heat, rotating every couple minutes until ingredients are lightly charred. Serve on a large platter with the relish and mint garnish. Accompaniment: any extra pineapple can be sliced and grilled and served with the skewers, as I did with mine.
RSA
