These Basil Grapefruit Grilled Swordfish Steaks are fresh, light, and full of bright flavors!
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So when I made the grapefruit basil salsa that goes on top of this fish, at first I thought basil might be a little weird but I would go with it. And then when I tasted it, wow! This salsa is SO good! Now I want to put it on everything.
This grilled swordfish is perfect for the summer! The flavors are light and fresh. Not a fan of grapefruit or don’t have it? Orange would be a great substitute! Find more of our seafood recipes here and more of our grilling recipes here! And if you do not have basil, mint would be great as well! The recipe is very forgiving and easy to adjust as you want.
Grilling fish can be a little intimidating because they are rather delicate, and the last thing you want is huge chunks of fish being stuck to the grill and ripping off. The trick? Get your grill ripping hot through a preheat, and coat the swordfish steaks directly with some oil. Then once it is down, don’t move it! Let it cook, and it should easily come up. If it is still stuck and you have oiled it, odds are it just needs a little more time. This recipe would also be great with other grilled white fish like cod or halibut.
I am also a huge fan of how FAST this recipe is! The grapefruit relish can be made while the fish is cooking, and ready from start to finish in 15 minutes! Serve it up with some vegetables like asparagus or zucchini, a salad, or rice. I hope these Basil Grapefruit Grilled Swordfish Steaks make it into your regular summer rotation!
Basil Grapefruit Grilled Swordfish Steaks
Ingredients
- 4 swordfish steaks (approximately 5 ounces each)
- 2 grapefruits
- 2 Tablespoons red onion finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to medium heat. Preheat a skillet or grill basket with small holes on the grill for the relish. Something that the pieces will not fall through.
- Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Brush your grill (and/or the fish, honestly) with some oil to help prevent it from sticking.
- Meanwhile, prepare your grapefruit salsa. Cut the top, bottom, and skin off of the grapefruit and then slice your knife right next to each segment to remove them, leaving you with just the flesh wedges (see picture).
- Cut the grapefruit wedges that you have removed into chunks (a little larger than you want, as they will break some with mixing) and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the "guts" (leftover white membrane from the grapefruit) of one grapefruit into the small bowl to get some of the liquid.
- Add the finely diced red onion, basil, juice of 1/2 lemon, and the olive oil to the grapefruit. Stir gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If too tart, add a little sugar as desired.
- When the grill is hot, add the swordfish to the grill.
- Cook the fish for approximately 5 minutes. The fish should release somewhat easily from the grill. Flip over.
- Finish cooking the fish, an additional 5 minutes or so on the second side. Remove from the heat.
- Top the fish with the relish, or serve on the side. Serve immediately.
