Simple Fish with a Fancy Relish

I love a three day weekend (of course who doesn’t)! For Memorial Day weekend we went up to Mentone with a few friends to relax and enjoy the nice the weather. As I mentioned in my last couple of posts May has been a really busy, fun month. It just seems like we have been going non-stop, so I told Russ earlier this week that while I love cooking I just didn’t have the time or energy to do any menu planning or shopping for this weekend. Being the sweet husband that he is he planned out all of the meals and did all of the grocery shopping. He also included eating out one night at Canyon Grill, one of our favorite restaurants! I had a delicious halibut that was pan sautéed and served with capers and lemons juice (piccata style). It was wonderful! The next day I was relaxing on the porch and reading my most recent copies of Cooking Light and Fine Cooking and found lots of recipes for halibut. Since I enjoyed my halibut so much at Canyon Grill I decided to put it on the menu for this week.

I decided to try the Fire-Roasted Pepper Relish from Fine Cooking and serve it over halibut. To make the relish you first roast the peppers. Now, I normally would roast my own peppers, but a friend of mine recently gave me a jar of fabulous fire-roasted red peppers, so I decided to use those tonight. Whether your roast your own or use jarred you slice the peppers into wide strips. Put them in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix everything together and let it sit while you cook the fish. Originally Russ was going to grill the fish outside, but since it was raining we decided to pan sauté it inside. I simply rubbed the fish with a little olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. I then got my sauté pan hot and put the fish side down and let it cook for several minutes on that side. I then flipped it (so the skin side is down) and let it cook a few more minutes. I served the relish on top of the fish with a side of roasted green beans.

I love roasted red pepper, olives, and capers, so it was no surprise that I loved the relish. It had a wonderful mix of shapes and sizes that gave great texture combined with the soft flakiness of the fish. I like that the mildness of the halibut was complemented by the bright flavors of the relish. Our only complaint was that the parsley didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the flavors and tasted a little off. I’ll be honest I am not sure if we didn’t just get a not so great, not so fresh bunch of parsley at the store (all the more reason I need to finish up my herb garden outside!). Either way, next time I think I will skip the parsley and use either cilantro or basil. All in all this was a delicious, simple, quick and easy meal that was perfect for a weeknight. Russ rates the halibut with the relish a 9. He said that it would have received a 10 had the parsley not been included.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Relish, Fine Cooking
Yields about 2 cups

Serve over grilled steak, chicken breast, or fish fillet such as halibut or swordfish. The recipe calls for both parsley and cilantro, but feel free to use other herbs like sliced chives or chopped basil.

3 red or orange bell peppers
¼ cup pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives, halved
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, very roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, very roughly chopped
2 Tbs. thinly sliced scallions
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. capers, rinsed
½ tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. minced jalapeno or Serrano
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon plus a squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a hot gas or charcoal grill fire. Cut the tops and bottoms from the peppers and cut the peppers into 3 or 4 flat pieces, discarding the tops, seeds, and ribs. Grill the pepper sides and bottoms skin side down until blistered and charred all over; 6 to 8 minutes. Put the peppers in a bowl and cover with a plate. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel the charred skin and discard. Don’t be too concerned if flecks of skin remain attached. Cut the peppers into bite-size pieces or wide strips.

Put the pepper pieces in a medium bowl and add the remaining ingredients, stirring well and seasoning to taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Make ahead: The relish keeps well in the refrigerator in a sealed container for at least a week. It’s best to make it a couple of hours ahead to allow the flavors to develop.