Whole Red Mullet with Greek Salad

The combination of red mullet and Greek salad is perfect.  Just eating it takes you off to some Mediterranean shore.  Red mullet when grilled has this wonderful almost shellfishy saffron scent which is just so beautiful.  The secret of a good Greek salad is a good salty feta cheese and a sprinkling of real Greek mountain oregano.

You will need - serves 2

2 Red Mullet weighing around 250 g each, scaled and gutted

Good olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Good pinch of dried oregano

1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

6 leaves from a round lettuce

3 ripe tomatoes cut into quarters

¼ whole cucumber, cut in half lengthways and sliced

1 small red onion, finely sliced

½ handful of black olives, preferably Kalamata

100 g good quality feta cheese

Splash of red wine vinegar

Pinch of sea salt

To make

Pre heat the grill to maximum

Brush the mullet with olive oil and place under a hot grill and cook for 4 – 5 minutes on either side. 

Make the salad by tossing together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion all the ingredients and make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar and oil, season with salt and black pepper, then crumble in the oregano.  The dressing should taste quite acidic at this stage.  Liberally dress the salad and toss together and finish with a further sprinkle of oregano.  Serve in a separate bowl alongside your grilled fish which should be finished with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of your best olive oil.