Ainsley Harriott’s Seafood Skewers with Peperonata
A light and refreshing summer meal, these easy seafood skewers with peperonata can be cooked on a barbecue or grill. As seen on ITV's Ainsley's Mediterranean Cookbook.
From the book
Ainsley’s Mediterranean Cookbook
A journey through the diverse cuisines of the Mediterranean region.
With recipes ranging from Moroccan tagines to Italian desserts.
All laid out in Ainsley's clear, accessible, and foolproof style.
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Introduction
This is a real celebration of fish and it was the perfect light meal to cook on the boat in Corsica after a spot of paddle boarding. Simply cooked fish with a quick and tasty peperonata – delicious! Pastis is a French liquor flavoured with anise and its herby kick works so well with seafood. You can use any combination of fish and seafood you like for these skewers.
Ingredients
| 4 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 | red onion, sliced |
| 1 | fat garlic clove, finely chopped |
| 1 tsp | dried oregano |
| 1 | red pepper, de-seeded and sliced |
| 1 | yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced |
| A splash of | pastis (such as Pernod or Ricard) or dry white wine |
| 3 | plum tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped |
| A pinch of | sugar |
| 1 | lemon cut into 8 wedges |
| 700g | firm-fleshed fish, skinned and boned, cut into 16 chunks |
| 16 | raw king prawns, peeled |
| ½ tsp | chilli flakes |
| A handful of | basil leaves |
| 1 tbsp | chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley |
| sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Essential kit
You will need: skewers
Method
Preheat a barbecue (if using to cook your skewers). If using wooden skewers, pre-soak them in cold water for 30 minutes before cooking.
Start with the peperonata. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook for 4–6 minutes until softened. Stir in the peppers and cook for 3–4 minutes, then add the pastis and cook until the alcohol has burned off. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for a further 3–4 minutes.
If not barbecuing, preheat a griddle pan over a medium heat.
To build your skewers, thread two wedges of lemon, four pieces of fish and four prawns onto each skewer, beginning and ending with the lemon wedges to help keep the fish in place. Drizzle a little oil over the skewers, then season with salt and pepper and a few chilli flakes.
Place the skewers onto the barbecue or griddle pan and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side until cooked through and the prawns are pink.
Just before serving, stir the basil into the peperonata.
Serve the skewers on the side of the peperonata, with a sprinkling of parsley on top.
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