Reef Fish on Zucchini, Red Capsicum Sauce

Just a quick light dish for lunch, I put the dish on the buffet but it goes perfectly well as a light lunch, it is filling, looking good on the plate and has no starch, so we can cut a bit on the carbs.

Reef fish for me is the obvious choice as I get it around 3 times a week fresh from the fishermen, often I get fresh Tuna as well, so fresh that we use it straight for Sashimi, what a dream. But we are not talking about Sashimi today, we are talking a nice Mediterranean dish.

By the way, did you know that all the fish in Maldives is caught by line? No nets are allowed for the fishing so the Eco Balance is still there, OK, not like 50 years ago, but at least it is not too over fished. Except the Lobster, unfortunately the consumption is too high and there is less and less lobster available, but it is really good to know that the fishermen are taking care of the environment with the way they are fishing

The Capsicum sauce is most probably the one part of the recipe that takes the longest to cook, but I usually make enough and then freeze it as it is so versatile and can be used in anything, I even make salad dressings with it. All you do is take the red peppers, cut the pips and the green out and simmer in water with a little salt till they are very soft.. By then the water has reduces to about half. Then I simply blend it, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and put it back in the pan. The I blend it up with some really good olive oil, season and finish

If I want to freeze the sauce, I just leave the olive oil away and freeze it pure, like that I can just take what I need and blend up with the oil.

The Zucchini are simply cut in slices, then I rub them in olive oil (really good olive oil), salt and coarse pepper. As for the salt, I like to use a coarse salt like the Maldon Sea Salt. The I make sure I have some fresh Thyme and a bit garlic, finely sliced.

I just quickly grill the Zucchini and keep them warm while I fry the fish in olive oil, or simply grill it.

The plating is great and honestly, it is not much work at all, but the dish will make your family happy or your guest say wow.......

Recipe for 10 friends

2 kg Reef Fish
800 g Zucchini
50 ml Olive oil
10 g Salt
5 g Pepper
5 Twigs Thyme

700 g Capsicum red
10 g Garlic
100 g Onions
6 g Salt
3 g Pepper
100 ml Olive oil

Method
Clean the capsicum, making sure no pips are left
Peel onion and garlic and cut in small pieces
Combine in a pot and add water till nearly covered
Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil
Simmer till very soft, blend and strain

Cut the zucchini in 1 cm thick slices
Season with olive oil salt, pepper and thyme
Fry on both sides till golden brown

Season the fish and pan fry or grill with olive oil 
Just before serving mix up the capsicum sauce with olive oil to give it a smooth consistency

The dish on the buffet