Swordfish on the Grill

One of the (many) things I love about cooking in Malta is that I can always find the freshest fish at any time! Also, I have a barbecue in the yard ready to start whenever I feel like and lots of aromatic herbs in the garden. When we cook fish on the island, be it a whole fish, a steak fish like tuna or swordfish or some prawns, they don't really need much seasoning. Fish, here, tastes and smells like the sea, a bit salty and fresh, and when you close your eyes you can see the glorious blue of the endless Mediterranean sea sparkling right in front of you!

So, most of the time, we cook our seafood on the grill. We sit outside in the garden, I slice up some bread, sprinkle it with olive oil and fill our glasses with some fresh Maltese white wine while I'm waiting for my seafood to cook! What a sweet life!

This time we chose a steak of swordfish, a firm slice, thick enough, so that it won't dry out on the grill. I covered the fish with a handful of fresh mint leaves from Jenny's garden (my favourite herb this summer!) and put it on the heat for just a few minutes. When you can lift the fish off the bone, it's done. This kind of cooking is so simple yet so good, my summer kitchen heaven!

We ate the fish just with bread and a green salad with olives on the side.

Swordfish on the Grill

For 2 people you need

• swordfish steak, around 1 1/2cm / 1/2" thick, 1 big or 2 small steaks, around 300g / 10.5 ounces

• fresh mint leaves, a small handful

Cover the fish on both sides with mint leaves and cook on a hot barbecue for a few minutes on both sides until you can lift the fish off the bones, turn it gently with a spatula.

If you prefer to cook the fish in a pan, heat a little olive oil and sauté the fish for 1-2 minutes on both sides until golden. Cover the steak with the mint leaves and cook in the oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 8 minutes.

Serve with a salad, olives and some bread sprinkled with olive oil on the side.