Recipes

Grilled Swordfish with Green Caper Sauce

Grilled Swordfish with Green Caper Sauce

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1/4 cup EVOO

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups packed spinach leaves, trimmed of stems and washed

1 cup plat-leaf parsley leaves

4 scallions washed, and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

6 anchovy filets, rinsed and finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste)

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste

For the potatoes:

Red or white skinned baby potatoes

EVOO

Butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the fish:

1 swordfish steak per person, between 3/4″ and 1″ thick

Olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

For the sauce:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO in a small skillet with the minced garlic over medium heat until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach, parsley and scallions and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the blanching water.

Put the warm spinach mixture in a blender with the garlic, tarragon, capers, anchovies, the rest of the EVOO, and the reserved blanching water. Blend until smooth and of a sauce consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small, covered saucepan and keep warm.

For the potatoes:

This isn’t a recipe per se, but rather a Jamie Oliveresque description of a very simple technique. Place as many potatoes as you need to feed your gang into a large pot, cover them with salted water and heat to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down until the pot gently boils, and cook until a paring knife placed into the largest potato comes out easily. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot and smash them with a large fork or potato masher. Toss a few large knobs of butter, and a few glugs of a good quality olive oil into the pot. Season with salt and pepper and stir until the oil and butter have been incorporated. Add more of any of the above until the taters achieve the flavor and consistency you want. Cover and reserve as you cook the fish.

For the fish:

Pre-heat your gas grill to medium. Rub each piece of fish lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper. I hesitate to quote exact times here, because everybody’s grill is different, but for me, a 3/4″ thick steak is perfectly cooked at 4 minutes per side. Do be careful, because there is nothing worse than over-cooked fish. To check doneness, pierce the flesh with a small paring knife, and lift gently to take a peek into the center, it will be a translucent white and still very moist when cooked through.

To serve:

Spoon some of the mashed potatoes in the center of your plate, top with a piece of swordfish, and surround with a few spoonfuls of the sauce. Serve with a wedge of lemon, if you wish.

Via Los Angeles’ May Food Blogger, Steven Dunn of Oui Chef

Steven Dunn is a 40-something father of five with a background in marketing and finance. He recently completed a two year professional hiatus during which he indulged his long held passion for cooking by moving to France to study the culinary arts and immerse himself in all things French. He earned “Le Grande Diplome” from Le Cordon Bleu, studied also at The Ritz Escoffier and Lenotre cooking schools, and completed the course offerings of the famed Bordeaux L’Ecole du Vin.

He started “Oui, Chef” to chronicle his experiences spending time in the kitchen with his kids teaching them how to cook, and as a vehicle to encourage other families to follow our example and do the same.