BN Cuisine With Chef Fregz: Grilled Lemon-Parsely Fish with Couscous & Pineapple Aubergine Dip

Hey guys, if you read this column last week, you’d understand why this week is really special. This week I’m going to step aside, basically giving my ‘pulpit’ to Chef Iyamilele.

Hiya! This is Iya. First of all I must say its such a great honour to write here as a guest of Chef Fregz. It was such a thrill to cook with and at Chef Fregz’s and I think the most amazing part of that deal was that  my recipe knocked his out  and it earned me the spot today…. God is good! LoL

So below is the recipe most of you wanted to see. I hope when you try it, it works out even better than mine. Where you think you want add this and ditch that please feel free. Remember that recipes are usually guidelines.

Grilled Lemon-Parsley Fish with Couscous and Pineapple Aubergine Dip

What You Need

The Fish
4 pieces of Croaker fish
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A generous handful of parsley
Juice of 1 lime, plus 2 teaspoons grated zest
Segments of 1 chopped orange, plus 2 teaspoons grated zest
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I used maggi hot & sweet sauce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

The Couscous
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 chopped red peppers
2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of couscous

The Sauce
1/2 a cup of chopped pineapple
1 tablespoon of white beans
1/2 a small aubergine(eggplant), chopped
tarte sauce

How To
For the fish – In a shallow dish, add the 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, parsley, lemon juice and zest, lime juice and zest, orange zest, hot sauce and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, add the fish and let marinate for at least 15 minutes. Grill the fish until cooked through.

For the cous cous – In a saucepan, heat the tablespoon of extra virgn olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped red pepper, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the couscous, cover it and keep warm.

For the sauce – Boil the aubergine for 10-15min in salt water (this will remove the bitter taste). Blend the beans, aubergines and pineapple till its a smooth texture. In a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons of tarte sauce and stir in the mixture (pineapple, aubergine and white beans) bit by bit till the mixture has a creamy texture (add more tarte sauce when necessary)

 TO SERVE

Fluff the couscous with a fork to carefully separate the cooked grains (this will remove any lumps and separate the delicate grains without crushing them to give the couscous a light, fluffy texture, a wooden spoon will often result in mushy couscous), mix in the chopped orange. Serve with the fish and a tablespoon of the sauce.

 

I’ve tried to keep it as simple as possible… it would be awesome if you gave it a go! Many thanks to everyone again! Special shout out to the amazing photographer, Demilade Banwo whose pictures have given life to the food. You can check out his pictures here.

Love and Caramel Kisses…

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Iya is currently a post graduate student with a passion for food. When she’s not buried deeply in her books, she channels her energy into her cooking and gives life to her food through photography. Follow her on instagram @iyamilele for more beautiul pictures of her food.