Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [119]
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the jalapeños directly over the heat until the bacon is almost crisp, the cheese oozes, and the stuffing registers about 125 to 130°F on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes total, turning a few times.
Remove to a platter, remove the toothpicks, and let stand for 10 minutes to cool down and firm up the cheese before serving.
LEAN, DELICATE WHOLE WHITE FISH
Whole Red Snapper Stuffed with Feta Pilaf and Wrapped in Vine Leaves
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Red snapper is one of the world’s great eating fish, and the most popular member of the large snapper family (some 250 members strong). Its fine texture and sweet, subtle flavor take to a wide range of seasonings. We love the fish with Greek bursts of salt-cured olives, feta cheese, lemon, and cinnamon. A wrapping of grape leaves also perfumes the fish with briny, vinous aromas. More important, it keeps the skin from sticking to the grill. Look for small snappers, as large ones can develop a somewhat coarse texture. A fish just under 2 pounds is perfect for grilling whole and provides two servings. Here we remove the central skeleton to make serving the whole fish a breeze. It makes a great presentation without the fuss of filleting the cooked fish. You can remove the central skeleton at home in about 5 minutes or have your fishmonger do it. Be sure to keep the bones for making the light fish broth that flavors the feta pilaf stuffing.
INGREDIENTS:
2 small whole red snappers (1¾ pounds each), gutted, scaled, fins removed, heads on
3 cups water
½ cup dry white wine
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
5 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon chopped
8 black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon coarse salt
⅓ cup olive oil
⅓ cup pine nuts
1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
1 whole lemon, plus 4 lemon wedges
1 cinnamon stick
2 scallions (green and white parts), chopped
¾ cup crumbed feta cheese
⅓ cup pitted and halved green Greek olives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
14 to 16 jarred grape vine leaves, preferably early harvest
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
Remove the central skeletons from the fish (see Know-How, right), and then cover and refrigerate the fish.
Put the fish skeletons in a medium saucepan along with the water, wine, onion, carrot, parsley sprigs, peppercorns, 1 clove of the garlic, and ¾ teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, making sure the skeletons are submerged. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Measure out 2½ cups liquid and set aside. Discard the rest or save for another use, and wipe out the saucepan.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and remaining 2 garlic cloves and cook until the garlic is soft but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook until it absorbs some of the oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the outer yellow zest from the lemon in one continuous strip. Add to the pan along with the cinnamon stick and reserved fish stock. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. Scatter the scallions on top of the rice, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the lemon and cinnamon and fluff the rice with a fork. Mix in the feta, olives, oregano, and chopped parsley.
Light a grill for indirect medium-high heat, about 375°F.
On a large work surface, lay out the vine leaves, overlapping them to create two rectangles, each a little