Grilled Mahi Mahi Kabobs

I am on a fish kick lately...have you noticed? Jim isn't quite sure what has gotten into me. It started back when I tried Mussels and absolutely loved them, boy have I been missing out all these years. Maybe I'm making up for lost times. I tried Salmon for the first time recently and thanked Jim for nudging me in that direction.  For this easy dinner I made kabobs of mahi mahi filet, marinated in a green olive tapenade. Inspiration for this easy dinner comes from epicurious. I served the fish kabobs with jasmine rice mixed with chopped roma tomatoes, marinated red bell peppers and avocado. Man did we enjoy this dinner! Here is what I did.

This is half the mahi mahi filet that I purchased. It was only after I cut it in half that I had the thought, "dang, I should take a picture of it right out of the package from the market." It's a big honker, but I was pleased with the price on this filet...It wasn't as expensive as say the Sea Bass or Halibut.

I cut the fish filet in half, then I sliced into roughly 2x2 pieces and placed them in a small casserole dish covered with olive oil and green olive tapenade.  You can absolutely make an olive tapenade yourself... just chop any kind of olive you like by hand or in the blender and add olive oil . You can make it as chunky as you like or puree it to make a paste. In a pinch, I used a store bought green olive tapenade that I found on the International food aisle.

I skewered about three pieces of fish onto long metal kabobs.

Then I grilled on our infared grill which is a pretty high heat for about 8 minutes total. It's done when the fish turns white and flakes easily with a fork. 

After the first four minutes, I went to flip and these suckers really stuck to the grill...even though I wiped the grates with olive oil first AND the fish had olive oil and olive tapenade on it. In the future I will NOT be putting fish filets on skewers. Later this week I am going to post another fish recipe (I know, right!) and for that dinner I used a pan specifically made for grilling fish and it worked beautifully! No worries here though, the mahi mahi kabobs didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked them, but they TASTED FANTASTIC!!!

After making jasmine rice, I wanted to "beef" it up with some vegetables.

I chopped one roma tomato, diced half an avocado and diced about 4 strips of roasted red bell pepper.

I served the rice alongside a mahi mahi kabob and a few slices of avocado. Both Jim and I enjoyed everything about this meal, but I was disappointed in the presentation. I know it's a silly thing to fret over, but I do believe that we eat with our eyes first. If the plate doesn't look appetizing, it may effect how much you like the dish. Next time I grill any type of fish I will not use kabobs, I will use a fish fry pan or a foil pouch, or a cedar plank. There are lots of other options.  The green olive tapenade was a wonderful marinade and I even brushed more on the fish after it hit the grill. It gave the outside of the mahi mahi a nice briny crust with lots of flavor. The addition of bell pepper and tomatoes to the rice complimented the spanish flavors of the fish. All in all it was a great meal I will definitely prepare again.

What is your favorite way to prepare fish?