Surfer-Style Grilled Fish & Vegetable Packets

BY Jim Kempton
August 6, 2018

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Photography by Jim Kempton for Edible San Diego

Easy grilled fish and vegetables full of smokey, vibrant flavor

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The genius of wrapping the ingredients in foil makes cooking for a crowd so much less work—and it works just as well for a more intimate dinner. It’s worth the extra step of making Donald Takayama’s Teriyaki Sauce to go with it. Recipe from “First We Surf, Then We Eat.”

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 cup quartered cherry or grape tomatoes
1 cup diced yellow summer squash
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup pitted and coarsely chopped Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon capers, rinsed
1.5 pounds mild white fish, cut into 4 equal portions
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons slivered fresh garlic
4 teaspons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons, plus more to taste Donald Takayama’s Teriyaki Sauce (see related recipe)

Instructions

Light a charcoal grill and bring to medium heat or preheat a gas grill to 350°
Make Donald Takayama’s Teriyaki Sauce.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, squash, onion, olives, lemon juice, oregano, and capers. Set aside.
To make a packet, lay out a 20-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and coat top of foil with cooking spray. Place one portion of fish in center of foil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Top each portion of fish with about ¾ cup of vegetable mixture and ½ teaspoon garlic. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon teriyaki sauce. Fold foil over, leaving room for steam to gather, and pinch seams to seal tightly. Repeat process with 3 remaining packets.
Grill packets until fish is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Remove from grill and carefully open both ends of packets. Allow steam to escape, and use a spatula to slide contents onto plates. If you’re camping or beachside, eat directly out of packet.

Jim Kempton

Jim Kempton is a lifelong surfer, cook, and writer. He’s been the editor and publisher of Surfer magazine; the director of Quiksilver’s Crossing Project, a boat that searched the world for the best surf breaks; the director of media for Billabong; and owner of the former Margarita’s Village, an award-winning regional Mexican restaurant in San Clemente, California. The San Clemente resident currently serves as the president of the California Surf Museum.