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Fish a la plancha on a plate next to rice, plantains, and lentils.
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Pescado a la Plancha (Grilled Fish)

This easy grilled fish a la plancha is marinated with lime, garlic, mustard and oregano. You can also make it seared in a pan.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Ecuadorian, Latin American
Keyword A la plancha, Fish, Pescado a la plancha
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 2 medium to large fish fillets you can use type of fish, including corvina, hake (merluza), sole (lenguado), sea bream, tilapia, cod, snapper, mahi mahi, tuna, halibut, etc

For the easy marinade:

  • 2 garlic cloves crushed – can also replace with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon of lime or lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard any kind of mustard will work
  • ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon of oil can use olive oil or a neutral high heat resistant oil like avocado oil or sunflower oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Additional optional spices: cumin, paprika, etc

For the plancha, griddle or pan:

  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • 1 white or yellow onion sliced - optional but recommended

To serve:

  • Freshly chopped parsley or other fresh herbs - optional
  • Lime wedges

Recommended side dishes:

Instructions

  • Mix the ingredients for the fish marinade.
    A marinade of garlic, lemon, oregano, mustard
  • Rub the marinade over the fish fillets and let them marinate just for a few minutes while the grill, griddle or pan gets hot.
  • Heat the plancha or griddle, you can also use a frying pan to make a seared version of pescado a la plancha. Brush the griddle with some oil or add a small amount of oil to the frying pan.
  • When the griddle or pan is hot, add the fish fillets and cook for a few minutes on each side.
  • Add the onions on the sides of the fish, you can add them from the start, after you flip the fish, or cook them at the end if you do not have enough space.
    Two fish fillets on a hot gridle with onions cooking next to the fish
  • Follow the same instructions if cooking the fish in a skillet or pan.
    Making fish a la plancha in a skillet
  • Serve the grilled fish fillets with lime wedges, fresh chopped herbs on top, and your choice of side dishes.
    Close up of pescado a la plancha style fish on a plate with rice and lentils, with red onions on top of the fish.

Notes

  • A la plancha means to cook something on a hot flat surface (a plancha), there are specialty planchas that you can place on top of a hot grill. You can also use a griddle on the grill, on the stovetop, an electric indoor flat grill surface or even a frying pan to make this fish a la plancha recipe.
  • Most of the time, pescado a la plancha will consist of fish fillets, but you can also cook a whole fish a la plancha.
  • The fish does not need to be pre-marinated, you can rub the marinade on the fish and cook the fish as soon as the griddle or plancha is hot enough.
  • In Ecuador, we usually add some onion slices to the plancha and serve them with the fish.