spicy citrus fish

as I have mentioned, Mark Bittman knows what is up. I was looking for new and exciting ways to prepare fish and this one really struck my fancy. I served it with halibut from the market cooked on the grill. This salsa is so refreshing and flavorful,it would be good with all types of fish or even atop grilled chicken, shrimp or pork tenderloin.


It's got a bit of a kick to it, even though I didn't use the full-strength habanero peppers Mark recommends, I tried it with one serrano pepper and one fresh jalapeño pepper, both chopped - ribs, seeds and all.  If I were to make it again, I would probably try to decrease the spice by either using just one jalapeño or just one serrano.  


This citrus-salsa comes for traditional Mayan cuisine and is known as xec 
(pronounced "shek"), it's traditionally made with bitter oranges, grapefruits and lemons.  I tried it with one orange, one grapefruit, a lemon and a lime.

Here's the recipe in it's full, shining glory:


Fish with Spicy Citrus Salsa
Mark Bittman, the Minimalist

1 small grapefruit

1 orange

1 lime

1 large lemon

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1/3 cup red onion, minced

1/2 habanero, jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and minced

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil

1-2 halibut fillets, 4 to 6 ounces each, preferably skin on (and scaled).

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut orange and grapefruit in half horizontally and section it as you would a grapefruit; do this over a bowl to capture all its juice. Remove seeds and combine flesh and juice in bowl. Repeat with lime and lemon. Stir in cilantro, onion, pepper and salt. Set salsa mixture aside.

Put oil in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. A minute later, add fish, skin side down; season top with salt. Cook until skin begins to crisp, 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to oven. Cook another 3 or 4 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife meets little resistance when inserted into thickest part of fish. Serve fish with xec, immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.