Swordfish with tomatoes, raisins, and pinenuts
As you may recall from this post from a few months ago, seafood tends to be my culinary Achilles heel. While I have more pasta recipes in my repertoire than I can count, and know how to make all sorts of cake and even gelato from scratch, I realize I am slightly unbalanced as a cook, in that I tend to focus a lot on primi and dessert, and don't have much experience preparing seafood or fish. I decided to learn how to make a few seafood recipes, if just to expand my culinary horizons a bit.
This recipe is the result of one of this effort, and what a yummy result it is. The mix of ingredients may seem odd first, but trust me on this – every bite of the sauce is different, thanks to the briny olives, sweet raisins, sharp capers, and savory tomatoes, and don’t underestimate the usually mild pine nuts, which really give the sauce another layer of flavor. I was concerned at first that the sauce would overwhelm the swordfish, but I am pleased to report that they both complement each other perfectly, both shining through just enough to make a nicely balanced dish.
A couple of notes: This dish is also light enough to eat in the summer, and if you're not up for turning on your oven you could also grill the swordfish and serve it with the sauce over the top. I’ve used swordfish for this recipe as it is substantial enough to stand up to the flavorful sauce, but feel free to use any kind of fish you like -- tuna would also be good.
For more recipes for meat, chicken, or fish mains, click here!
SWORDFISH WITH TOMATOES, RAISINS, PINENUTS
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup (a good handful or two) raisins
1/3 cup (79mL) white wine
Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 1/4 cups (about 240 grams) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup (90 grams) black olives pitted and halved
1 ounce (28 grams) pine nuts
3 tablespoons capers
4 swordfish steaks (about 1 ½ pounds or 670 grams)
Parsley to garnish
Directions:
Soak the raisins in the wine for 30 minutes. Remove the raisins from the wine, and reserve the wine.
Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet over high heat. Sauté the onion, tomatoes, and garlic until soft. Add the reserved wine and let it cook down, about 5 minutes. Stir in the raisins, olives, pine nuts and capers. Reduce the heat and let the ingredients cook together for another 10 minutes or so. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Season the swordfish steaks with salt and pepper. Place the swordfish a lightly oiled baking dish and cover with the cooked sauce. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish is cooked throughout. Serve right away, sprinkled with parsley.
