Olive Oil Poached Swordfish

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This main course serves 8.
Swordfish and White Wine

View the swordfish cooking video on Instagram.

Ingredients:

  • 8 swordfish steaks, about 2″ in thickness and about 4-5 oz. each
  • 3 Tbsp. salt
  • ½ head garlic, unpeeled and smashed
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 4-8 cups extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 lemons cut into wedges cut into four wedges each

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 250F.
  2. Salt the swordfish steaks and then place in an oven-safe baking dish.
  3. Leave the skin on the garlic cloves and smash with your knife or the bottom of a heavy pot. Add to the baking dish, along with the rosemary sprigs.
  4. Add as much olive oil as needed so the swordfish steaks are fully submerged in the oil. Cover and place in the oven for 23-25 minutes.
  5. Remove the swordfish from the oven and let cool at room temperature.*
  6. Once fully cooled, remove swordfish steaks from the oil and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper to allow excess oil to drip dry.
  7. When dry, remove the skin from the swordfish steaks.
  8. Cook the swordfish on a hot grill. The fish is already cooked, so you only want to quickly get grill marks on the fish, so they absorb a light smokey flavor.
  9. Remove the fish from the grill and serve with the sauce and lemon wedges.

*You can poach the swordfish ahead of time and store it refrigerated in the olive oil for up to a week.

SWORDFISH SAUCE

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. golden raisins, soaked
  • 2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
  • ½ medium yellow onion, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 oz. salted capers, soaked, drained, and chopped
  • ½ tsp. aleppo pepper (or chile flakes)
  • 2 oz. pine nuts, toasted
  • 3 ¼ oz. zucchini, diced small
  • 6 oz. canned plum tomato, chopped
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ½ oz parsley, picked and chopped
  • 3 Tbsp. swordfish poaching oil

Preparation:

  1. Submerge the raisins in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Drain.
  2. Heat the grapeseed oil in a medium saucepan.
  3. Sauté the onion, garlic, and salt on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until translucent.
  4. Add the chopped capers, aleppo pepper, hydrated raisins, toasted pine nuts, and zucchini.
  5. Cook for another 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring frequently. The zucchini will still be firm at this point.
  6. Add in the chopped tomato and cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes or until the tomato begins sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  7. Add stock then bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the zucchini is very tender.
  8. Remove from the heat and stir in parsley and swordfish poaching oil. The sauce should be chunky and thick, almost like a relish.

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