Grilled Zander with Vegetables and Lemon Sauce

How to fillet and marinate the zander

1. Grilled zander with a vegetable side and sauce is really three separate cooking processes.

2. Fillet the fish: scale the whole zander and cut off the fillets, carefully picking out all the large bones and removing any remaining fins. If the fish is too big, cut each fillet in half so it fits on a plate.

   

3. Marinate the fillets: lay them skin side down on a plate or board, sprinkle with coarse rock or sea salt, add a little pepper and rub on dried Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, savory, dill and basil. Ready-made dried herb mixes of very good quality are sold in stores. Squeeze 1 tsp of lemon juice and brush it over the fillets. Note that all the seasoning goes on one side of the fillet only, the side opposite the skin. Leave the fillets to marinate for 15 mins.

   

How to make the lemon sauce

1. The sauce should be only slightly spicy, with a faintly sour taste.

2. While the fillets marinate, make the sauce. Put the egg yolk into a deep bowl and carefully separate the white, which you don’t need in this sauce. Add salt, a pinch of ground nutmeg on the tip of a knife and a quarter teaspoon of ready-made table mustard. Whisk the yolk with the mustard until smooth, then keep whisking while adding the vegetable oil 1 tsp at a time until the mixture is thick enough. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and stir it in. The sauce should be slightly thicker than store-bought mayonnaise.

   

Vegetable side dish

1. Fish fillet goes well with a vegetable side. You can grill the vegetables at the same time as the zander fillet on the same grill.

2. Slice and grill the vegetables: slice the tomatoes (for looks, you can use different colors), bell pepper and zucchini or eggplant. A very young zucchini doesn’t need peeling. Brush the vegetables with a little vegetable oil and cook on the grate until soft, with light grill marks.

   

How to grill the zander

1. You can cook zander over coals on a barbecue or at home in a grill pan, with the same order and timing. The grate or pan must be well heated, with medium heat and no open flame.

2. Pat the marinated fillets dry with paper towels and brush with a little vegetable oil. Place them on the grill skin side down and cook for 2-3 mins, then turn over. It’s important that the skin doesn’t start to shrink, otherwise the fish will lose its shape.

   

3. Grill the flesh side for 4-5 mins, then turn back skin side down and cook for another 2-3 mins. Fish on the grill usually takes 10-12 mins, which is enough: the flesh turns white and opaque and flakes easily with a fork. To get a nice golden crust, you can turn the fish a few more times at the end, judging by its look, until it is done to your liking.

   

Serving

1. As soon as the fillets are done, put them on plates, garnish with sprigs of parsley, add the grilled vegetables and, if you like, a slice of fresh lemon. Serve the lemon sauce in a separate sauce boat and pour it over the fillets right before eating.

   

   Fried zander, like any other fish, goes wonderfully with lemon juice. Many people overlook this, and it’s a mistake. Serve grilled zander hot, with a glass of white wine.