Grilled Fish with Pineapple Salsa

By Sandy Hu

Congratulations to our two sweepstakes winners: Peggy B from Oroville CA who won our Charcoal Companion grill tools giveaway, and Rita A from Westminster CA who won our secret prize: the Picnic Time English-style willow basket. Stay tuned for our next sweepstakes.

We grill pretty much year-round in San Francisco, except on the coldest, wettest days. Mostly in our house, we go for the standards: burgers, ribs and steaks. But recently, we’ve been trying to eat more fish. I love fish and often order it at restaurants. But home cooking? No so much.

We pay attention to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for recommendations about which seafood are ocean-friendly and which to avoid because they are overfished or caught or farmed in ways that are harmful to other marine life or to the environment.

You can download a pocket guide, featuring fish available in your area of the U.S., to take shopping. There’s also a nifty free app for iPhones or Android phones called Seafood Watch that provides the same information tailored to your location services or zip code. The app is very organic, allowing users to share information about restaurants and markets that sell sustainable seafood, creating a useful, crowd-sourced database.

Yesterday, I made Grilled Fish with Pineapple salsa using sustainable fish. This recipe is quick and easy, delicious and healthy.

To make pineapple salsa, you can buy fresh, pre-cut pineapple or you can cut up a whole pineapple yourself. Follow my video demo if you’ve never taken knife to pineapple before. (It can seem intimidating, but it’s not hard.)

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Grilled Fish with Pineapple Salsa
Serves 4

1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced, seeded jalapeno pepper
Kosher salt
1-1/4 pounds firm white fish fillets
Vegetable oil

1. To make salsa: In medium bowl combine pineapple, tomato, onion, cilantro, lemon juice and jalapeno. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt.
2. To grill fish: Dry fish fillets with paper towels. Brush both sides with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt. Grill fish over high heat, covered, about 2 minutes on each side. Time will depend on thickness of fillets. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook or fish will be dry.
3. Serve grilled fish with salsa.

Variations:

• Just make the salsa to serve with chips. One recipe yields 1 cup, so you may want to double the recipe.
• Instead of grilling, you can pan-fry the fish.
• Inside of pineapple, substitute ½ cup of mango, nectarine or peach.
• Instead of serving the fish whole, flake the fish and use it to fill warmed corn tortillas. Top with shredded iceberg lettuce and the pineapple salsa.

Notes:

• To seed tomato, halve the tomato and gently squeeze out seeds and juice; then chop for salsa. This will keep salsa from becoming too runny.
• To seed jalapeno, halve lengthwise and remove seeds and veins with a sharp paring knife. If you like salsa hotter, do not seed the jalapeno.

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