Saturday, January 7, 2012

Chili-Lime Swordfish



Swordfish is a wonderful protein to cook with - it's meaty holds up well against strong flavors, but it usually requires a fairly simple preparation and it cooks in no time at all. As long as you remember to thaw out a frozen fillet before work (or if you're able to pick up a fresh one before dinner), it makes for a fairly simple and delicious meal with minimal effort! In the summer, swordfish does really well on a hot grill, but when the weather cools it can be equally good in the oven or pan-seared. Most recently, I used my trusty cast-iron grill pan to handle my swordfish. With a quick simple lime and soy-based marination in addition to a rich coconut milk based sauce, this recipe turns out an immensely bright and flavorful fish:





Ingredients
Marinade
2 medium sized swordfish fillets
2 tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp mince garlic

Sauce
1/2 can coconut milk
4 tbsp lime juice
2 Serrano chilies, cut into small chunks
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp lime zest
Handful of cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste


The first key of course is to start with beautiful swordfish filets like those above. You can make the sauce ahead of time by simply blending all the ingredients together until smooth.

The fish needs to marinate for 30-45 minutes prior to cooking. After the marination period, drain the fish and gently pat dry. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper after that. Heat your pan over medium high heat until it is very hot. Place the swordfish on and hear that sizzle! Cook for about 4 minutes and then flip. Cook another 4 minutes on the other side, turning a quarter turn halfway through to create diamond marks.






Remove the fish from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle some of the rich sauce on top and serve! (seen here with some blanched green beans tossed in sesame oil and toasted peanuts).








1 comment:

  1. Beautiful picture. You should upload it on Tastespotting. I mean it!

    ReplyDelete