Saturday, April 08, 2006
Sesame-Crusted Blue Marlin
My visit to the market on Saturday was a slightly rushed affair. After last night, we both overslept and then needed ages to get into gear. By the time I was finally fit to face the world, it was so late I would not have had enough time to finish my shopping in time for the lunchtime poker tourney. So I just stayed in bed until it was time to play. This, however, meant that when I went out I had to jump up immediately and get on with the shopping. I was lucky though. Jenny was not completely sold out. I still got the usual Brussels sprouts, cabbage and carrots along with the first signs of spring in the shape of some baby cauliflower, sprouting broccoli and radishes. Then I stopped at the fish stall for some incredibly nice looking blue marlin and another piece of the lovely smoked cod I had two weeks earlier. Next, I went to our greengrocer on Meath Street for some more fruit and vegetables before I ran home again - just in time before the heavens opened.When it came to dinner, I was spoilt for choice. Marlin or cod? Cod or marlin? I did a bit of a recipe search looking for inspiration and finally decided on sesame-crusted marlin with stir-fried vegetables and potato wedges.
For the marlin:
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 fresh marlin steaks, about 150 to 200 g each (tuna or swordfish will work too)
2 tsp sesame seeds
For the vegetables:
2 tsp oil
2 to 3 large handfuls of vegetables, sliced or chopped into bite size pieces (I used a mix of onions, mushrooms, blanched broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts and cherry tomatoes)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground ginger
a pinch of cumin
a pinch of chilli powder
1 Oxo cube
a few dashes of soy sauce
For the potato wedges:
2 medium sized floury potatoes
4 tbsp oil
½ tsp paprika
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges. Pour the oil into a baking tray that is big enough to spread the potatoes out in a single layer and briefly heat in the oven. Add the potatoes to the hot oil, season with paprika and stir to coat evenly with the oil. Bake in the middle of the oven until crispy, about 40 minutes.
For the fish, heat the oil a small ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Coat the marlin with sesame seeds, pressing them down to stick and fry, sesame side on top, for 2 minutes. Then transfer the steaks to the oven for a further 6 minutes or until just cooked through.
For the vegetables, heat the oil in wok or large frying pan. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Now stir in the vegetables in order of their crunchiness, giving each enough time to cook until just beginning to go soft. In my case this meant first adding the carrots, followed a minute later by the mushrooms and onions, then, two minutes later by the broccoli and another minute later by the bean sprouts and tomatoes. Lastly, add the spices and soy sauce and crumble in the Oxo cube.
Serve the marlin on a bed of vegetables, drizzled with any juices that came out during baking and surrounded by potato wedges.
Christine at 12:50 am
