Dinner Tonight: Fish Kebabs with Fennel Salad

5/25/2014

"This is a nice one-platter meal for a summer supper," writes Paula Marcoux in Cooking with Fire.

Slightly adapted from Paula Marcoux's Cooking with Fire: From Roasting on a Spit to Baking in a Tannur, Rediscovered Techniques and Recipes That Capture the Flavors of Wood-Fired Cooking, published by Storey Publishing.

1 small onion, grated

1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound fish, cut into 1-inch cubes (swordfish, halibut, shark, or tuna)

1 large bulb fennel

1 small red onion

1/4 cup parsley,  minced

1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted golden in a dry pan

Mix the grated onion, yogurt, oregano, cumin, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Toss in the fish cubes, and let stand while your fire is prepared. Prepare outdoor grill - you want it very hot.

Slice the fennel bulb and red onion as finely as possible. On your serving platter, toss the slices with the parsley, the remaining olive oil, and juice from one-half of the lemon. Season with salt and pepper, and cut the other half lemon into wedges for serving.

Thread the fish on skewers and grill over very hot coals for a couple minutes on each side. Peek into a fish cube to see if it is cooked through. Slide the fish off the skewers onto the salad and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.

Serves 3-4.