Seafood, when fresh, seems to come pre-seasoned with all the flavour of the sea. You really don’t need to do too much to it; a bit of thoughtful enhancement is all that is required. When I was younger and I heard my favourite chefs at the time say things like this on cooking shows, I used to roll my eyes. I thought it was some cliché they all banged on about. But as my relationship with food has grown, so has my understanding of some of those words. I can now say with conviction that they were right. This recipe really brings out the natural flavours of the seafood, using just good old fire and a few piquant flourishes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 medium sized whole red snappers, cleaned

1 medium sized whole parrot fish, cleaned

6 – 8 lobsters

2kg prawns

10 green olives

6 sundried tomato pieces

3 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 onions sliced

10 cloves garlic, crushed

Fresh thyme

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

 

Method

1. Get the barbecue white hot and start with the prawns. Skewer them to make them easier to handle on the grill. Sprinkle on salt, black pepper and lime juice and place on the grill to cook until done. Turn often to make sure the prawns don’t burn. Keep the skins on to keep the juices in and prevent burning. 
2. Move onto the fish. Place the three fish onto a large piece of foil. Double up the foil so that it will be strong enough to hold the fish. Rub the fish down with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Sprinkle on the thyme and add the sun dried tomatoes. Dot on about 6 cloves of garlic. Add the olives, and squeeze on the lime juice. Scoop the mustard into the cavity of each fish. Wrap the foil up and place on the grill, close to the flames to cook. 
3. Next move to the lobster. Split each lobster carefully down the back. Sprinkle some salt and chopped garlic into each shell, and then place an onion ring into the slit to release flavour while grilling. 

 

This recipe is from Season 1 Episode 12 of Minjiba Entertains, commissioned by The Africa Channel and showing on RealTime DSTV Channel 155, Emirates in-Flight Entertainment, Amazon Prime, and Demand Africa.