Linda's Caribbean Marlin

As we stepped out of our car a blue heron greeted us. We were headed into Shelley's Seafood a fish market on the Homosassa River. We went in search of bay scallops, but learned they can only be fished non commercially so we decided to see what else they had.


Most everything at this fish market is wild caught, fresh and not frozen. There was so much to choose from we had a hard time deciding. Finally we picked a small steak of marlin, fished sustainably, for last evening's dinner and grouper cheeks for tonight.


Being the adventurous cook I am, I decided to try making a papaya and poblano salsa to top the firm fleshed marlin.


First I broiled the poblano pepper turning it over every couple of minutes to blister the skin. When it was nicely browned I took it out from under the broiler, peeled the skin, and chopped up the pepper.


Next I chopped up a Caribbean red papaya into small chunks. I added the roasted chopped pepper, some garlic powder, ground coriander, dried dill, summer savory, dried parsley, celery salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice. I stirred it up well and set it aside to meld the flavors together.


In the meantime I had put some wild and brown rice to cook. When the rice was almost ready I put some broccoli florets on to steam.


I cut the marlin steak in half and put it in a saucepan topped with some fresh ground pepper and sauteed it on medium heat with a tablespoon of melted butter. When it was lightly brown on both sides, I covered it to cook almost through leaving a little pink inside. It took less then ten minutes to cook. Don't overcook this fish since it will toughen and dry out if overcooked.


I served up the rice, broccoli, and the marlin and topped the marlin with the salsa. I've had a lot of fish over the years, but this was the best fish I've ever had. It was firm, yet tender and very juicy. The salsa was unbelievably wonderful and a perfect complement to the fish. The poblano pepper was just a little warm, not hot and very flavorful.


I'm calling this recipe Linda's Caribbean Marlin, (copyrighted by me; no commercial use without written permission and linkbacks/credits please). I'm cooking the grouper cheeks tonight. I'm not sure I can top this recipe, but I guess I'll have to try, so stay tuned.