This easy rockfish recipe can be made on a gas or charcoal grill, or even on the stovetop with a cast-iron grill pan. The key is having clean, lightly-oiled grates, and a super hot grill when you’re ready to cook. A lightly-oiled fish grilling basket could also come in handy here, to ensure you get all the flavor from grilling without the risk of losing a fillet to the flames.
The shining star of this recipe is the zhug — an herby Yemeni hot sauce that is so delicious and versatile that after making it once, you’ll want it as a fridge staple, like mayo or ketchup. Flavorful rockfish, hot off the grill, is an ideal base to highlight the warmth of the toasted spices, the kick from the serranos, and the brightness of the herbs, lemon, and garlic.
Quick substitutions: If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, and/or don’t want to spend time chopping, use a spice mill or grinder for the spices and a food processor for the remaining zhug ingredients. In a pinch, you can substitute ground, dried spices from your pantry — though the flavors will be more muted than if you were using freshly ground spices.
About Chef Alexandra: Alexandra Albrecht has been working as a personal chef in New York City and Long Island for over 10 years. Whether she’s cooking for clients, teaching cooking classes or preparing dinner for her family of three, she centers her ethics of sourcing the finest seasonal ingredients to ensure delicious, balanced and nutrient-dense meals. She is also a professional dancer and therefore has a deep personal understanding of how proper nutrition fuels a healthy, active lifestyle.
