Pesce Spada Recipes

PESCE SPADA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. In a shallow dish coat the fish steaks with the mixture and let marinate, covered and chilled, for 15 minutes. Arrange the fish in a foil lined baking pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until fish is just cooked. In a bowl toss the tomatoes with the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the fish to serving plates and top each with some of the tomato/basil salad. Sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges.

STRACCETTI DI PESCE SPADA

Steps:

• Slice the swordfish into 1/2 by 2-inch strips. Dust with flour and toss to evenly coat. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil with garlic and chile peppers. Remove the garlic when golden brown. Shake off the excess flour from the swordfish strips and carefully place into hot olive oil. Season with salt and when the fish is golden in color, add the white wine. Let the wine reduce a little and then add the tomatoes. Reduce the tomatoes for approximately 3 minutes and add the black olives. Place on large plate and serve with fresh arugula.

AGGHIOTTA DI PESCE SPADA

Steps:

• Place the raisins in a small bowl of hot water to soften and plump them while you proceed with the recipe.
• Lightly flour each side of the swordfish steaks. Over medium-high heat, saute the steaks briefly in two tablespoons of olive oil, just enough to brown them - about two to three minutes to a side. Set the browned steaks aside.
• Turn the heat to low, add three tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan and gently stew the thinly sliced onions, 15 to 20 minutes, until they are soft. Add the garlic, pine nuts, celery, capers and olives. Drain the sultanas and add to the pan.
• Add the tomatoes to the pan, raise heat again and cook all ingredients together rapidly, approximately 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place half the sauce in a shallow oven dish. Arrange the steaks in the dish and spoon the remaining sauce on top. Place a bay leaf on each steak. Bake the swordfish steaks for seven to nine minutes, or until they are cooked through but still juicy. Do not overcook. Serve immediately. (They may also be set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.)

PESCE SPADA SULLA BRACE ALLA PANTESCA

Steps:

• Construct a marinade with 1/2 cup of the olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, pepper, lemon juice, and massage it into the fish on both sides. Allow the fish to rest for 1 hour while you prepare a wood fire and an onion/tomato marmalade.
• Over a medium flame, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan and soften the garlic, taking care not to let it color. Add the onions. Soften them for 15 minutes or so, adding 1 tablespoon of the moscato each time the pan seems dry-about 1/2 cup total. Add the tomatoes, salting them generously, and the remaining cup of moscato. Slowly cook the mixture, stirring it every few minutes until it reduces and thickens almost to a jam-about 1/2 hour. Drain the plumped raisins and rinse the capers, adding both to the finished marmalade. Stir very well and set the marmalade aside.
• When the embers of the fire are red/white-hot, char the swordfish steaks 45 seconds to 1 minute-30 seconds will be sufficient if your fire is hot enough-on each side, removing them to a plate onto which some of the marmalade has been spread. When all the steaks are grilled, spoon a bit more marmalade over them. The warm, charred fish forms a lush fusion with the jam.

BRACIOLINE DI PESCE SPADA ALLA MESSINESE

Steps:

• With a mezzaluna or a very sharp knife, finely mince 1 cup of the mint and parsley together with the garlic to a fine paste and transfer it to a large bowl. Lightly pan-roast the pine nuts. Add the olives, raisins, and any residual liquid and the pine nuts to the bowl along with the capers, pecorino, bread crumbs, and the egg. Generously grind on the pepper. Work the elements to a well-amalgamated paste. The pecorino and capers should be salty enough to flavor the paste, but after tasting it, add a bit more if you wish.
• Lay the bracioline on a work surface and pound them lightly but firmly with a mallet, thinning the flesh a bit. Spread each steak with a good tablespoon of the paste, roll it into a fat little sausage shape, and secure the braciolina with a toothpick. Over a lively flame, heat the oil in a large sauté pan and very quickly cook the bracioline, sautéing them well but taking only a minute or so to do it so as not to overcook the fish. Remove the bracioline to a holding plate.
• When all are cooked, discard any remaining oil and rinse the pan with the 2/3 cup of Malvasia, scraping and stirring and permitting the wine to reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the bracioline and present them, strewn with 1/2 cup mint leaves, warm or at room temperature.
• Sacrificing the beauty of the sauce, one could skewer the bracioline onto well-soaked grapevine twigs, olive wood twigs, thick branches of rosemary, or metal skewers, alternating them with bay leaves and roasting them over a very hot wood fire for a minute or two on each side, basting them with olive oil. They'll need some accessory-a spoonful of warm tomato vinaigrette would do nicely.