Fig Leaf Wrapped Grilled Chub Mackerel
Chub mackerel, grilled wrapped in fig leaves, stuffed with garlic, lemon and rosemary.
EQUIPMENT
- 8 toothpicks
INGREDIENTS
- 8 chub mackerel
- 8 fig leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 5 g rosemary
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Gut and clean the fish, then salt it. Rinsing in the sea instead of fresh water keeps some natural salt on the skin, so cut back on added salt if you are cleaning them in seawater.
- Rinse the fig leaves (a little dampness is fine). Prep your garlic, lemon slices, and rosemary for stuffing.
- Mix the garlic with a tablespoon of olive oil and stuff each fish with the mixture, a lemon slice, and a touch of rosemary. Lay the fish along the length of a fig leaf. Grab a second leaf if it's oversized.
- Fold the sides of the leaf in first, then bring the long end over to seal the package.
- Pin it shut with a toothpick, snug but not forced.
- Fire up the grill. With charcoal, wait for the flames to settle into a steady heat before adding the fish.
- Grill 10 minutes per side, flip once, and grill on for another 10 minutes on the other side. Longer on the grill beats shorter here, unless you like it on the rarer side.
- Let the fish rest a few minutes before serving. When ready to eat, pull out the toothpick, cut along the top, lift out the bones, and enjoy with a garlic-parsley-olive oil sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
NOTES
TIPS:
Pick leaves in the morning. They're more pliable before the afternoon heat toughens them up, and grab ones big enough to fully wrap the fish.
Leaf tore? Grab another. A little overlap won't stop the char and steam from working. Extra leaves double as a grill liner.
Match your fish sizes. Uneven sizes mean uneven cooking; some fish done, some not even close.
Any fresh fish works. No chub mackerel? Sardines, salmon, whatever looks good at the market that day.
Keep the wraps sealed. Ten minutes a side does it. Peek at one at the end if curiosity wins; leave the rest closed.
STORAGE
Thanks to the fig leaves, chub mackerel keep well in the fridge for a day or two.
Cool the fish to room temperature before storing. Wrapping them up while still warm traps in steam, leaving you with fish that's more steamed than grilled.
NUTRITION
Serving: 4servings ~Calories: 1468kcal ~Carbohydrates: 4g ~Protein: 181g ~Fat: 75g ~Saturated Fat: 21g ~Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g ~Monounsaturated Fat: 26g ~Cholesterol: 423mg ~Sodium: 776mg ~Potassium: 3712mg ~Fiber: 1g ~Sugar: 1g ~Vitamin A: 603IU ~Vitamin C: 34mg ~Calcium: 234mg ~Iron: 11mg