Grill/Barbecue

Grilled Swordfish Kabobs with Hawaiian Citrus & Honey-Mustard Sauce

by:
July 14, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

There isn’t a dish on this planet that I don’t enjoy cooking; from Italian to Moroccan, to just down-home comfort food. But in the summer, my taste buds tend to lean toward the Islands. Fusion cooking just brings out the Iron Chef in me and since my fully stocked pantry would rival that of any professional chef, I find myself spinning around the kitchen with unbridled giddiness! Summer is all about the grill and I can’t think of a better combination than firm and flakey swordfish, veggies and a mildly spiced tropical sauce to put a sunny smile on anyone’s face! I cook a variance of this recipe just about all summer long. It’s great served over nutty toasted couscous with chopped toasted macadamia nuts or just a simple serving of fluffy jasmine rice. —Suzy's Cookin'

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 16 10-inch wooden skewers - soaked in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning (or you can use metal ones if you have them)
  • 4 swordfish filets (about 8 oz. each) – each cut into 8 pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 large red pepper - ribbed, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 large sweet onion (purple, Maui or Vidalia) cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 pineapple – peeled, cored & cut into 1-inch chunks - reserve juice for sauce
  • 3 limes – cut into ¼ inch slices (ends removed)
  • 1/2 pound small whole mushrooms - baby bellas, button, or shitake - brushed and stemmed
  • For the Sauce:
  • 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon light sesame oil
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic (about 1 tbsp.)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (from 2-inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled)
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple juice
  • 1/3 cup thawed concentrated orange juice
  • 1 Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 Juice and zest of 1 lime
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup orange blossom honey
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 dried pasilla chili
Directions
  1. Heat both of the oils in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant – don’t let the garlic or ginger brown. Add remaining ingredients for the sauce and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely. When liquid has cooled and chili is softened, remove chili; remove seeds, mince chili and return minced chili to the pan.
  2. Place the swordfish in a glass dish and season with salt and pepper; pour ½ cup of the cooled sauce over fish, coating all of the pieces by working it in with your hands. Allow the fish to marinate for one hour at room temperature. Remove swordfish from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Meanwhile, bring remaining sauce in the pan to a boil, stir, reduce heat and simmer (stirring often) for about 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1½ cups.
  4. Prepare the grill: To prevent the kabobs from sticking to the grill, oil the grill with an oiled paper towel and heat the grill to about 450° for a very hot grill.
  5. While the fish is marinating and grill is heating up, cut up the vegetables into 2-inch chunks. (If you prefer fully cooked and tender veggies, blanch the red pepper and onion in boiling water for about 1 minute and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Precooking the veggies will help them cook at the same rate as the fish. For a crunchier texture, just skip this process.)
  6. To keep the fish and veggies from spinning on the skewers, use 2 skewers, side by side, for each kabob. Divide the ingredients up evenly and thread a piece of red pepper, then onion, slice of lime, swordfish, pineapple, mushroom, onion, swordfish, lime, then red pepper, etc. until you have 4 pieces of swordfish for each kabob. Repeat with the remaining skewers, making 2 skewers per person.
  7. Cook kabobs for about 4-5 minutes on each side, for a total of about 8-10 minutes, or until the fish turns opaque, turning and basting with some of the sauce. Do not overcook the fish or it will be too dry.
  8. Serve: Pour a little sauce in the center of each plate. Using a fork, slide the fish and veggies off of skewers onto each plate. Pour a little extra sauce over each serving.
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