Today's Recipe: Pesce alla Griglia (Simple grilled fish)

I am yet to meet an Italian who does not eat fish. Italians do their fish very well, cooking it simply rather than drowning it with sauces and seasonings. During festive times like Christmas, it is fish and not meat that takes precedence on the table. This recipe comes from a girl I knew called Elena. She used to live in Genoa, working two jobs, yet she always found a few minutes to grill fish and serve it to me with a big salad.

Ingredients

• 600 gm fillet of any firm white flesh fish, like sea bass or red snapper (or pomfret)

For marinade

• 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 pod garlic, minced
• A few sprigs of rosemary or oregano
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

• Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a mixing bowl and give it a good whisk. Add the cleaned fish fillet to the marinade, making sure it is well coated. Cover and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavours soak into the fish. In case you are tired and hungry and want a quick bite, you can safely leave this step out.
• Grill the fish on a medium flame in a non-stick pan, basting regularly with the marinade. Allow 2-3 minutes for each side, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Eat right away with a squeeze of lemon and a big salad.

Previous recipes

• Cold Italian soup for a hot day
• Lip-smackingly good mozzarella in a carriage
• Italian cauliflower pasta
• Sicilian eggplant and rice salad
• Sumptuous meat stew in 15 minutes
• Yummy Italian 'tamaatar toasts'
• Italian fish with a citrus twist
• Simple, sinful roast chicken
• Delicious Italian-style cheese and onion omelet
• Easy, cheesy zucchini carbonara pasta
• Speedy tomato-basil pasta
• Spaghetti aglio Olio e Peperoncino

Excerpted from Italian Khana, India's first Italian cookbook for the Indian kitchen, with permission from the publishers, Random House India. Ritu will also answer reader queries, so please address your questions to her in the QnA box below.

Photograph: Sephi Bergerson