Mahimahi with Citrus Fennel Relish

I cut this delicious recipe out of my December 2007 issue of Cooking Light, but have not ever tried it until this week. The original recipe calls for Grouper but says that mahimahi or any firm white fish would be good substitutes, so I went with mahimahi. I also made several other slight changes to the recipe - substituting sweet onion for red onion (which Hubby hates), gourmet brown sugar that I had from Barbados for regular sugar, tangerines (which I had on hand from my in-laws) for oranges, and dried tarragon for fresh tarragon (that I could not find anywhere!).

The relish was fabulous - not too citrusy, not too sweet. So bright & crisp! In fact, not only did I use the relish for this recipe, but I used the leftovers (which there was a good bit left over) as a salsa to go with tortilla chips. And honestly, it worked so well with the chips that I would definitely make it again just for that purpose. The relish worked perfectly though with the fish - it complemented it, but did not mask or overpower the taste of the fish.

I had never cooked with fennel before, so this was a first for me. We went to three places before finally finding whole fennel bulbs at Fresh Market. Thankfully, there was one giant one left. When I say giant, I do mean giant - less than half of the bulb was over a cup.

Mahimahi with Citrus Fennel Relish

original recipe here

Relish:
1 cup finely chopped fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb or 1/2 of a large bulb)
3/4 cup chopped tangerine sections (about 1 good sized tangerine)
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup chopped lemon sections (about 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Fish:
4 (6-ounce) grouper or other firm white fish fillets (about 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

To prepare relish, combine first 12 ingredients, tossing well to coat.

To prepare fish, brush fish with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Add fish to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve fish with relish.