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Fish kebabs with lemon, pepper, red onions and bay leaves

Healthy, delicious fish kebabs in olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes marinade.

Healthy, delicious fish kebabs in olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes marinade.

This is such an easy and tasty fish kebab; you can use any firm fleshed fish like cod lion, tuna or salmon. Meaty swordfish, kilic baligi, is traditionally used at home and its firm, chunky flesh really works well in the kebabs. I like to roast extra vegetables by the side to complement the fish kebabs; with some boiled potatoes aside, these fish kebabs make a delicious, impressive meal for entertaining.

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This and many other delicious, healthy Turkish recipes are included in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland,  Signed copies are now 30 % Off for a limited period at this link. It is delivered worldwide including the US.

Brush the left over marinade of olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes over the skewers.

Brush the left over marinade of olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes over the skewers.

It is worth marinating the fish prior cooking; a simple marinade of olive oil, refreshing lemon juice with a little spicy kick from red pepper flakes flavor the fish kebabs beautifully. I baked my fish kebabs in the oven. You can alternatively cook them over preheated barbecue, oven grill or hot griddle for 6 – 8 minutes, until they are cooked through and lightly browned.

Lovely Fish Kebab image from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book by Sian Irvine Photography

I hope you enjoy these tasty fish kebabs, Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem

5.0 from 3 reviews
Fish kebabs with lemon, pepper, red onions and bay leaves
 
This is such and easy and tasty fish kebab; a simple marinade of olive oil, refreshing lemon juice with a little spicy kick from red pepper flakes flavor the fish kebabs beautifully. I like to roast extra vegetables by the side to complement the fish kebabs; with some boiled potatoes aside, these fish kebabs make a delicious, impressive meal for entertaining.
Author:
Recipe type: Turkish style fish kebabs - Seafood
Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 350 gr/ 12 oz. skinned, boneless cod lion (or any firm fleshed fish), cut into bite size chunks
  • 1 red onion, quartered and coarsely sliced
  • 2 red pointy (or bell) peppers, deseeded and coarsely sliced
  • 1 lemon, cut into small wedges
  • 5 – 6 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp. / 30 ml olive oil (for roasting the vegetables)
  • For the marinade:
  • 30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 – 2 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
  1. Soak wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes before using.
  2. Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F
  3. Cut the skinned, boneless cod lion (or your choice of firm fleshed fish) into bite size (about 3 cm/1.2” in.) chunks.
  4. Place the fish in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Season the fish with salt and ground black pepper. Gently coat the chunks of the fish with this marinade.
  5. Cover the bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to marinate and for the fish to absorb the flavors.
  6. Place the chopped red onion, red pointy (or bell) pepper and green pepper slices on a baking tray. Drizzle 2 tbsp. olive oil over them. Season with salt, ground black pepper and mix well.
  7. Thread the fish on to the skewers, alternating with a wedge of lemon, red onion slice, red and green pepper slices. Thread one or two bay leaves into each skewer. Brush the kebabs with any leftover marinade.
  8. Place the skewers at one side of your baking tray. Spread the remaining chopped vegetables next to the fish kebab skewers. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  9. Serve the fish kebabs hot with roasted vegetables and a wedge of lemon by the side. Boiled or roasted potatoes also complement the fish kebabs well.
Notes
Soak wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes before using.

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17 Responses to Fish kebabs with lemon, pepper, red onions and bay leaves

  1. BacktoBodrum April 22, 2015 at 5:41 pm #

    Sad to say that this is a dish easier to make in Uk than Bodrum now. When sword fish is available it is too expensive to buy.

    • Ozlem Warren April 22, 2015 at 8:45 pm #

      Merhaba BB, it is quite hard to find swordfish here too at the moment, and I used cod lion, worked really well – I think any firm fleshed fish would work, one would love to have it with swordfish too though!:) Ozlem x

  2. seniordogsabroad April 23, 2015 at 2:50 am #

    Sevgili Özlem, I love fish kebabs and your treatment looks beautiful. I agree with B to B – it’s hard to find swordfish now. Actually, we’re planning a trip to the states in June and are planning on doing a lot of grilling so we’ll keep this recipe in mind! Çok teşekkür ederiz, ailene selamlar ve sevgilerimizi söyle. xoxo J

    • Ozlem Warren April 23, 2015 at 10:19 am #

      Merhaba sevgili Jolee, cok tesekkurler notun icin : ) Glad you enjoyed this recipe post and hope it brings many delicious moments in States side – do stop over at us en route!! : ) Sevgilerimle, Ozlem xx

  3. Peri's Spice Ladle April 23, 2015 at 7:51 am #

    Beautiful flavors in these kebab, love the touch of lemon and chili pepper in fish:) and the vegetables add a crunchy bite to soft fish. A must try! xxPeri.

    • Ozlem Warren April 23, 2015 at 10:17 am #

      Thank you Peri; we share a love of kebabs and I love how you flavors yours with spices 🙂 A touch red pepper flakes with olive oil and lemon did the trick for us and we as a family really enjoyed it, many thanks for your kind words! Ozlem xx

  4. Nicole April 24, 2015 at 4:05 pm #

    In the oven now…Xx

    • Ozlem Warren April 24, 2015 at 4:13 pm #

      Merhaba Nicole, many thanks for your note, so delighted to hear it – hope you enjoy the fish kebabs!:) Ozlem x

  5. Phil in the Kitchen April 28, 2015 at 10:25 pm #

    That’s a fine idea for a good-looking fish dish. I like the idea of baking them in the oven – it means I don’t have to watch them too closely.

    • Ozlem Warren April 29, 2015 at 9:16 am #

      Thanks Phil, baking works for us too, especially when the weather is not good for outdoor grilling, glad you enjoyed it.

  6. Kathryn Gray June 29, 2019 at 12:49 am #

    Your recipe was a great inspiration to me in preparing fresh tuna and swordfish for dinner. In addition to fresh lemon juice and dried red pepper flakes, I employed some wine (rose) and dried dill to the marinade, in which I also used a mix of habanero-infused and blood orange olive oils. With a mixed green salad with fresh peaches and avocado, our summer meal was thoroughly enjoyable.

    • Ozlem Warren June 30, 2019 at 3:45 pm #

      Merhaba dear Kathryn, thank you so much for your kind note – delighted to hear you enjoyed the fish kebabs and I loved hearing your additions to the marinade. We love this easy, healthy dish, it is summer on a plate – afiyet olsun.

      Just to let you know, my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table is now available on amazon (kindle for US) , and signed hardback copies available at this link and delivered worldwide, if interested – with over 90 authentic recipes, stunning photos and stories from my homeland :

      https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/ozlemsturkishtable

      thank you for your kind note again, best wishes, Ozlem

  7. Christine August 14, 2020 at 8:32 pm #

    Oh my goodness. This is gorgeous. Although in our 70s my husband and I have a rule of one new recipe every week. This was this weeks. Loved it, going to be part of our fish buffet next week for my. 73rd birthday

    Used tuna, swordfish and smoked haddock and served with ratatouille and ciabatta.
    Ate alfresco, rare for UK!

    • Ozlem Warren August 15, 2020 at 3:36 pm #

      Merhaba dear Christine, absolutely delighted to hear you enjoyed these fish kebabs – so easy and delicious, isn’t it, one of the most popular recipes at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Honoured that they will be a part of your birthday buffet – happy coming birthday and afiyet olsun, Ozlem x

  8. David May 31, 2021 at 9:49 pm #

    Many thanks for the recipe! I used salmon, tuna and monkfish cubes, marinaded in lemon and olive oil with a sprinkling of thyme and basil. Rolled the pepper, courgette and onion slices in smoked paprika and garlic oil then threaded the skewers. They made a wonderful barbecue – served with a lemon couscous salad – our friends devoured it. We’ll be doing this again.

    • Ozlem Warren June 1, 2021 at 2:05 pm #

      Merhaba dear David,

      Thank you so much for your kind note; I am delighted you enjoyed these delicious Fish kebabs! Your dish sounded amazing and you certainly inspired me with the lemon couscous salad aside – thank you and Afiyet olsun, Ozlem

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