The Sicilians don’t have the corner on cooking with swordfish (pesce spada) – the Calabrians, who share the same sea with Sicily, have their own swordfish culture. And while grilling fish (in this case, swordfish) scares people to death – it’s really easy here because of the salmorigilo sauce. Salmoriglio sauce, which IS from Sicily, derives from the Sicilian word salmurigghiu, which means a light brine, and there is, indeed, some salt in it, though the primary ingredient is lemon juice. It’s a really versatile sauce that can be used on fish, pork or beef. It is a classic when paired with swordfish.
The key to this recipe is to gently pound the swordfish to create a thin piece to rollup into the involtini.
This recipe serves 4 people as a main course. This recipe is adapted from My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino.
Ingredients:
Salmoriglio Sauce
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pinch of hot chili pepper flakes or a fresh hot chili pepper cut into thin slices (as shown)
Swordfish and Filling
- 2 swordfish steaks, each about 3/4″ thick
- 1/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated pecorino
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon finely minced capers
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Special equipment:
- A kitchen mallet with a flat side
- A kitchen brush
Directions:
Salmoriglio Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until emulsified. Let stand until ready to use.
Swordfish and Filling
- Heat your grill to medium heat.
- Remove the swordfish skin (if any) using a very sharp knife
- Slice the swordfish steak horizontally to create two thiner steaks from the 3/4″ steaks. This is a bit tricky so use a super sharp knife and go slow. Put the palm on your hand on the swordfish steak to steady it.
- Place the swordfish between parchment paper or wax paper. Using a mallet, flatten the swordfish to about 1/2 the thickness from which you started.
- Make the filling. Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, capers, garlic and olive oil in a bowl.
- Lay out the swordfish on a board and liberally sprinkle with the filling. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll up each swordfish steak like a jellyroll starting with the widest side of the swordfish piece. Close with a toothpick.
- Reserve three-quarters of the salmoriglio for serving. Using the remaining sauce, brush each swordfish roll all over with the sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Grill the swordfish rolls, turning to get nice grill marks. About 5 minutes total.
- Serve by drizzling the remaining salmoriglio sauce over the swordfish rolls as shown in the photo.