Portofino-Style Pesto Lasagna: The Authentic Ligurian Baked Pasta Recipe
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Mediterranean-Style Swordfish Bites
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: 15 min
- Cook time: 25 min
- Serving: 4
- Cost: Average
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PRESENTATION
Mediterranean-Style Swordfish Bites pull swordfish and seasonal vegetables into a single pan, with eggplant, peppers, and cherry tomatoes forming the base of the sauce. Anchovies and caper berries—the larger, milder fruit of the caper plant, not the brined capers you may already have in the fridge—go into that base and add a sharper, saltier edge that keeps the dish from tasting flat.
The move that holds everything together is a light dusting of flour on the fish before it joins the vegetables. It does two things at once: it keeps the swordfish tender as it finishes cooking, and it gradually thickens the pan juices into a slightly creamy sauce with no separate reduction or added cream required.
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- INGREDIENTS
- Swordfish 1 lb (450 g)
- Eggplant 0.7 lb (300 g)
- Red peppers 1.3 cups (200 g)
- Cherry tomatoes 1.3 cups (200 g)
- Caper berries 3 oz (80 g)
- Anchovies in oil 3 fillets
- Garlic 1 clove
- White wine ½ cup (100 g)
- Peperoncino to taste
- Parsley to taste
- Type 00 flour 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tbsp (20 g)
- Fine salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Preparation
How to prepare Mediterranean-Style Swordfish Bites
To prepare the Mediterranean-style swordfish bites, first wash the eggplant, remove the stem and cut it into slices 1, then into even cubes of about 5/8–3/4 inch 2. Clean the red bell pepper by removing the stem, seeds and inner ribs, then dice it as well 3.
Wash the cherry tomatoes and halve them 4. Pour 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a large skillet and heat. Add the crushed garlic clove, the chili pepper and the parsley stems 5, keeping the leaves aside to finish the dish. Let the base flavor for 1-2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the eggplant 6 and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the bell peppers 7 and continue cooking for another 4-6 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes 8 and season with salt 9.
Pour in the dry white wine 10 and let the alcohol evaporate. Then lower the heat, cover the skillet with a lid 11 and let the vegetables continue to cook gently for another 5-6 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the swordfish. Remove the skin and any firmer central portion, then pat the fillet thoroughly dry. Cut it into bite-sized pieces of about 3/4–1 1/4 inch 12 and transfer to a bowl.
Lightly salt the bites and coat them in all-purpose flour 13 14, removing any excess flour using a sieve 15.
Add the anchovy fillets in oil to the skillet 16 and let them melt into the cooking base over low heat. Then add the floured swordfish bites 17, cover again 18 and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the swordfish appears opaque and is tender inside.
Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley leaves 19 and halve the capers 20. Check the fish frequently and make sure the cooking base remains sufficiently moist: if it reduces too much, add a little hot water. Always stir gently to avoid breaking the fish. Remove the skillet from the heat and add about two-thirds of the capers 21.
Add the parsley 22 and stir gently 23, season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and, if you like, a grind of black pepper. Divide the Mediterranean-style swordfish bites among plates and finish with the reserved capers 34.
Storage
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