Grilled red mullet with warm Greek salad

By George Koutsivitis

For my first recipe to you, I decided to share a traditional Greek dish with a bit of a twist… The twist is that the salad is warm and not cold as most of us are accustomed to. Greek salad is one of those eternally popular summer dishes here in Greece. During this time of year (spring), I like to occasionally turn it into a warm salad, using courgettes (zucchini) instead of cucumber and grilling the vegetables before tossing them with feta cheese, olives and fresh oregano. It's delicious on its own, with bread, or as an accompaniment to grilled fish and chicken.

Ingredients:

8 x 100g red mullet or sea bream fillets, with the skin on
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

6 large tomatoes on the vine
3 medium courgettes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
Splash of red wine vinegar
100g Kalamata olives, pitted
100g feta, diced
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

Method:

1) Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Mark a cross at the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife then put them in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water, leave for 30 seconds, then drain and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Leave to cool, then drain again and peel away the skin. Cut each tomato into quarters then scoop out the seeds, pat dry with some kitchen paper.

2) Cut the courgettes into 1.5cm-thick slices and pat dry. Whisk the crushed garlic and extra virgin olive oil together. Brush the courgettes, red onion and tomatoes with the garlic oil, then scatter over a large baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the thyme leaves.

3) Grill the vegetables for 3 – 4 minutes per side. Remove them from the grill once they cooked and place them in a bowl. Toss in the vinegar, olives, feta and oregano. Check for seasoning and make sure to keep warm.

4) Rinse and dry the red mullet or sea bream fillets. Remove any pin bones from the fish; place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, skin side up. Brush the skin with the olive oil and season. Grill for 3-5 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Divide the salad between 4 serving plates and arrange 2 fillets on top to serve.

ENJOY...!