Back to recipe

Chef critique

Sicilian Grilled Rockfish

A vibrant and well-conceived Mediterranean grill recipe featuring smart techniques for cooking delicate fish and potatoes. However, it requires a critical timing clarification to ensure all components finish cooking at the same time, as well as a slight increase in salt for proper seasoning.

Score: 7/10

Suggested fixes

  • Add a timing cue in step 5, such as: 'When the potatoes have about 10 minutes of cooking time remaining, place the zucchini and the foil with the rockfish on the grill...'
  • Increase the total kosher salt to 1.5 teaspoons and adjust the distribution across the recipe components.
  • Instruct the cook to add the diced sweet onion and minced garlic to the vinegar along with the raisins in step 1, allowing them to macerate and mellow.

Issues

  • high / timing: The recipe does not instruct the cook to stagger the grilling. The potatoes take 20-25 minutes, while the fish and zucchini take only 6-10 minutes. If cooked sequentially as written, the fish and zucchini will finish long before the potatoes.
  • medium / flavor: 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt is likely insufficient to adequately season 12 oz of fish, 12 oz of potatoes, 12 oz of zucchini, and a tomato relish. A total of 1.25 to 1.5 teaspoons would yield better results.
  • low / flavor: The agrodolce is prepared as a raw relish. Mixing the raw garlic and raw onion into the relish right before serving may result in an overly pungent bite.

Strengths

  • Consolidated and efficient upfront prep instructions.
  • Using a foil packet with a tablespoon of water for the potatoes is an excellent technique to steam-roast them on the grill.
  • Cooking delicate rockfish on a lightly oiled sheet of foil is a smart way to prevent it from sticking or falling through the grates.
  • The flavor profile is bright, Mediterranean, and very appealing.