Apple Grilled Walleye with Smoky Pineapple Salsa

Grilling walleye and other tender fish can be tricky because they are so delicate. They tend to fall apart easily, so you can’t really set them directly on the grill, and there’s a danger of the fish drying out. This fish is grilled on a bed of apple “planks”, which protects the tender fish from falling and imparts a sweet  juicy apple taste to the dish. The fish turned out so juicy, moist and flaky tender, I’m wondering why I never thought to do this before!

Yesterday was the first beautiful spring day we’ve had all year and I couldn’t wait to fire up the grill … I saw a wonderful post yesterday about grilling fish on pineapple planks … I have fresh pineapple on hand, but I’d already chopped it up and discarded the “planks”, so I went digging through my fridge to find a suitable alternative. Voila! I found some apples that were starting to wither on the outside, so nobody was going to eat them, but they were still nice and juicy and sweet on the inside. Perfect!

I actually made both fish and chicken legs using this same marinade. First, I marinated the chicken and stuck it on the grill to cook. Then I put the fish in the marinade while I grilled the tomato and pepper for the salsa. I think I would have grilled the pineapple, too, if I’d had it in larger pieces, but they were already cut.

Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you … this recipe comes together quickly.

Apple Grilled Walleye with Smoky Pineapple Salsa

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: Depends on how much fish you cook!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the marinade:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons marmalade (I used my ginger kumquat marmalade)
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash seasoning

To Grill the Fish …

• Several walleye (or other fish) fillets (my package said “2 walleye”)
• 1 or 2 apples for grilling, cut in 1/4-inch horizontal slices (NOT cored … but it is okay if some of the slices have “holes” in the middle … that will let the heat through)

For the salsa:

• 1 whole bell pepper (I used a red one)
• 1 whole tomato
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 – 1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (to taste)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno (more or less to taste)
• 2 large or 4 small cloves of garlic (use more or less to taste)
• 1 Tablespoon tequila
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• Lots of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped roughly

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Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the marinade until fully mixed and put the fish in the marinade for 15 – 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, fire up the grill. Set the tomato and bell pepper on a hot spot on the grill, cover and let them cook for a few minutes until the skin is blackened on the pepper and the tomato is plumped. Turn them to make sure you cook all sides of the pepper and tomato, then remove from the grill and set them aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. Now, arrange the apple slices on the grill to make a platform for the fish to cook. Remove the fish from the marinade and set the fillets on the apple slices. Cover the grill for just a few minutes and then check the fish. If your grill is good and hot, the fish will be flaky tender in 4 – 5 minutes. Carefully move the fish to a serving platter and put another batch of fish fillets on the apple slices until you’ve cooked all the fish.
4. If you have a helper, have one person watch the fish and one person pull the skin off the tomato (and the pepper if you like), then chop the tomato and bell pepper and mix it into the salsa.
5. Serve the fish over hot basmati rice topped with pineapple salsa.

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Notes

The marinade also works well for chicken, but you’ll want to let the chicken soak for at least an hour or two … ideally overnight. I actually used put chicken in first to marinade, then grilled the chicken and put the fish in the marinade while I was cooking the chicken.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This recipe was shared at Scrumptious Sunday, Mop it Up Monday, Keep Calm & Cook On – Apples and Cast Party Wednesday.