Halibut and Purple Fig Skewers on a Mixed Green Salad

The 4 fresh purple figs in the fridge were starting to wrinkle and get a bit soft for eating fresh, but were still good for cooking. I had determined in the morning that I was going to use them for dinner, somehow! The opportunity to buy fresh fish for dinner came along, and so I combined the two on skewers, grilled them, using a honey lime glaze, and served them on top of a lovely mixed green salad.

The honey lime glaze allowed me to use the half lime someone had put into the fridge, and I used the last of the mixed greens before they ended up in the compost...another couple of days and that's where they would have been.

Make the honey lime glaze by combining the ingredients in a small pan, and bringing it to a boil.

Juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste





When it boils, turn off the heat and allow it to cool. Set aside half of the glaze for the skewers. Use the rest, along with avocado oil, to make the dressing for the salad. Add the oil to the glaze, whisking well, adjusting the taste by adding more lime juice, honey or oil as you feel is necessary.

I also boiled some purple potatoes until they were tender, then drained and cooled them. After cutting them in half, I skewered them and these were grilled alongside the fish and fig skewers. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil, some salt and pepper and place them on the hot grill. This crisps up the outside and heats the inside, which stays fluffy.

Cut the stem tip off the figs, and cut each fig in half.

Cut the fish into 1" chunks. I had about 1/2 pound of fresh halibut.

Place the figs and fish onto skewers, one per person.






Brush one side of each skewer with the glaze. Place the skewers onto a hot, well oiled grill.

Cook until the fish is half cooked, then brush the second side with the remaining glaze, and carefully turn them over.

Continue cooking until the fish is done. This took about 6 minutes.




Remove from the grill, and serve, along with a skewer of purple potatoes, with the mixed green salad. I tossed the greens with the honey lime dressing, added some sliced avocado and toasted macadamia nuts. A perfect summer meal.

• I was cooking for two people, so the half pound of fish was about 4 ounces each; it doesn't sound like a lot but it was more than adequate.
• Other firm fleshed fish such as salmon, tuna, marlin or swordfish work well on skewers, so do prawns and jumbo scallops.They don't all necessarily work with figs, but you can adjust the fruit or vegetables you use to suit the fish you are using.
• Other fruits that would work instead of figs are pineapple, peaches or apples. Vegetables to choose from could be red peppers, zucchini, onions, mushrooms or cherry tomatoes.
• Dried fruit...figs, apricots, cherries...can also be used, but should be plumped up by soaking in a liquid before grilling. Use water, juice, tea or liqueur.
• The fish can be left as a fillet, and grilled and glazed that way.
• Any combination of juice and sweetener (honey, brown sugar or maple syrup) can be used to make a glaze. Add a bit of oil or butter for extra shine, flavour and to help prevent sticking to the grill or pan. Add herbs, spices, zest for another dimension. Mustard can also be mixed in to add some heat. For an Asian twist, use soy sauce and sesame oil.
• I used avocado oil in the dressing; any oil can be used. Any dressing you have can be used.
• The skewers can be served with rice, or over risotto.