National braai day is a day that brings all South Africans together. No matter your colour or creed, one thing is for sure, we love to share our special moments over a proper braai. Each and every one of us have a specific recipe that we associate with a braai. Mine is pretty obvious and I’m sure you’d be able to guess it very quickly – a braaibroodtjie (lekker man)! So whether its boerewors, tjops, kebabs, skilpadjies, braaibroodtjies, roosterkoek, apricot-based snoek or peri-peri chicken, it’s bound to make you feel at home and fill you with pride to be a South African.
This time round I wanted to share a delicious recipe that’ll tingle your tastebuds and perhaps encourage you to try something different. I love this flame grilled yellowtail (you can use your favourite fish of choice) with a Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce and Peach Arugula salad. The fish is beautifully flaky and slightly charred, the sauce is creamy and is laced with that quality Maille Dijon mustard flavour. The fresh peaches, burrata mozzarella and peppery arugula just brings this all together.
overview
preparation
Grilled Fish: I used about 1kg worth of yellowtail fillets. Yellowtail is a firmer fish so it holds well on the braai. I asked my local fish monger to remove the guts, head and tail.
Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce: The sauce comes together quite quickly so make sure you have all the ingredients ready before you make the sauce. I prefer making the sauce first because the fish and salad comes together very quickly. I just add a dash of stock to loosen it up before serving.
Peach Arugula Salad: The only real preparation here would be to roast the pistachio, if it’s still raw, and slice the ripe peaches. Easy with a capital E, tastebuds.
time:
Grilled Fish: The fish only needs to cook for a few minutes on each side as you don’t want it to be dry. You will continue basting the fish with the butter, lemon, parsley and salt which will help the fish stay juicy. Once you notice the colour starts to shift and becomes more white, you know it’s ready. You rather undercook the fish and pop it back on the grill than overcook it. I also like giving it a gentle poke with my finger, you want it to have a medium-rare feel to it because it’ll continue cooking once you remove it from the grill.
Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce: The sauce takes 10 minutes to throw together if you’ve pre-prepped the ingredients. You want the sauce to ready once the fish is done otherwise the fish will be cold by the time the sauce is ready. Like I mentioned, just add a dash of stock to loosen up the sauce before serving, if needed.
Peach Arugula Salad: This take 5 minutes. It’s as simple as layering washed and dried arugula, thinly sliced red onions, fresh peach slices, roasted pistachios, drizzle over olive oil, balsamic glaze and honey.
perfect for:
Those who love flame grilled fish, quality-well-balanced mustard sauce and a fruity-peppery arugula salad. Each one of the these provide flavours that compliment each other beautifully with every mouthful. This recipe also suits those who want something simple, tasty, slightly different and eye catching.
Above: Yellowtail Amberjack fillet. Grabbed these from Food Lover’s Market in Bothasig, Cape Town.
Above: Generously coated the yellowtail with a salted butter, lemon and parsley mixture.
Above: Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce – a simple, light and creamy sauce that’s made using butter, flour, wine, chicken/fish stock, thyme, mustard, cream, salt and pepper. It’s absolutely divine and using a quality mustard is extremely important as this will determine the overall flavour. I use Maille Dijon Mustard as seen below.
Remember to enter the exciting Maille Mustard Competition and stand a chance to win a Le Creuset pot set worth R20 000 (how cool?).
Here’s how you can enter:
1. Buy any Dijon Maille Mustard product
2. Dial USSD code *120*20034# and follow the prompts
3. Keep proof of purchase (receipt/till slip/photo in kitchen with product) in order to be able to redeem your prize
For more on the competitions’ rules: https://rialtofoods.co.za/maillecompetition/
T’s and C’s apply***
Grilled Fish with Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce and Peach Arugula Salad
Ingredients
Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce
- 30 grams salted butter
- 30 grams flour
- 65 ml white wine
- 450 ml chicken or fish stock lukewarm
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp Maille Dijon mustard quality mustard
- 50 ml cream
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
Grilled Fish with Basting
- 1 kg fish fillet skin on
- ⅓ cup salted butter softened
- 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Peach Arugula Salad
- 40 grams arugula or rocket washed and drained
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- 1 large ripe peach washed
- `1 large burrata mozzarella pulled apart
- 1 tbsp roasted and salted pistachio roughly chopped
- Olive Oil just a drizzle
- Balsamic Glaze just a drizzle
- Honey just a drizzle
Instructions
Dijon Mustard Velouté Sauce
- Bring a medium saucepan to a medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add flour and stir. Once the flour turns light brown, add the wine and cook for 30 seconds.
- Gradually pour in warm chicken/fish stock, stirring in between. This'll prevent your sauce from being lumpy. Once the stock has been incorporated, add thyme and Maille Dijon Mustard. Stir well.
- Add in the cream, black pepper and salt to taste. Keep warm while you prepare the fish and salad.
Grilled Fish with Basting
- In a medium sized bowl, mix melted salted butter, parsley and lemon juice together. Ensure the fish fillet is dry before coating it with the basting. Coat the fish with some of the basting. Place it on a clean clip grid and place on a hot grill. Cook the skin side first. Continue basting the fish until the meat turns whiter in color. Once its fully cooked, remove from the heat.
Peach Arugula Salad
- Cover the base of your serving dish with arugula, red onion, fresh peaches, burrata mozzarella and roughly chopped pistachios.
- Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic glaze and honey.
- You're now ready to serve. Enjoy, tastebud!