I would have to say that this was my first “signature dish.”  And it all came about with an elementary school raffle…

Years ago, my mother won a “Father’s Day Grill Basket” in a school fund-raising raffle.  At the time we neither owned a grill, or had a father that was at all interested in grilling, but nonetheless, we were now the proud owners of a grill basket.  A normal person would have given the basket away to a family with use for all the utensils, cook books, and funny grilling apron, but no – not my mother.  Instead, she marched herself to Home Depot and bought my father a grill for Father’s day.  Clearly this was the logical way to go about making sure this basket of goodies was put to good use.  So Father’s day rolled around and my father was presented with not only a new grill, but a whole basket of grill paraphernalia.   I have mentioned before that my mother was never all that interested in cooking but I promise you that my father was even less so.   And so from that day on, the grill became my new toy that benefited not only my dad, but my entire family. 

I believe it was the accumulation of the grill that spurred the transfer of dinner duties from my mother to me.  Armed with a grilling cookbook (a treat from the basket, of course) I began to systematically test every recipe, cover to cover, for daily dinners.  A fantastic book led to many successful meals, but this swordfish dish stood out among the rest.  A seafood-loving family, we were always willing to try any fish on the grill, but the combination of this simple marinade and quick salsa really packed a punch.  Caribbean Swordfish became the go-to meal anytime we had company (yes, by this point I had taken over the entertaining duties as well – however I can’t complain – I was in heaven.)  We loved it then, and my family continues to love this dish today.  The best part is, it is a sure-to-impress meal with little fuss.

A couple of notes:

Obviously this dish is a perfect summer meal, but these days mangoes are easily available year-round because of their tropic origin.

The salsa (and marinade, for that matter) is very versatile and can be paired with virtually any meat – try it will chicken or pork.

With hardly any fat, this is also a great healthy dinner.

Don’t marinate the fish for longer than four hours – after that, the acid in the lime juice will begin to break down the fish, actually beginning to “cook” it – but this is good news right?  Who likes having to marinate over night? Especially when I usually don’t decide on that night’s dinner much before 4 pm.

Recipe: Caribbean Swordfish with Mango Salsa