Agghiotta Di Pesce Spada Recipes

AGGHIOTTA DI PESCE SPADA

Steps:

• Place the raisins in a small bowl of hot water to soften and plump them while you proceed with the recipe.
• Lightly flour each side of the swordfish steaks. Over medium-high heat, saute the steaks briefly in two tablespoons of olive oil, just enough to brown them - about two to three minutes to a side. Set the browned steaks aside.
• Turn the heat to low, add three tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan and gently stew the thinly sliced onions, 15 to 20 minutes, until they are soft. Add the garlic, pine nuts, celery, capers and olives. Drain the sultanas and add to the pan.
• Add the tomatoes to the pan, raise heat again and cook all ingredients together rapidly, approximately 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place half the sauce in a shallow oven dish. Arrange the steaks in the dish and spoon the remaining sauce on top. Place a bay leaf on each steak. Bake the swordfish steaks for seven to nine minutes, or until they are cooked through but still juicy. Do not overcook. Serve immediately. (They may also be set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.)

PESCE SPADA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. In a shallow dish coat the fish steaks with the mixture and let marinate, covered and chilled, for 15 minutes. Arrange the fish in a foil lined baking pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until fish is just cooked. In a bowl toss the tomatoes with the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the fish to serving plates and top each with some of the tomato/basil salad. Sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges.

BRACIOLINE DI PESCE SPADA ALLA MESSINESE

Steps:

• With a mezzaluna or a very sharp knife, finely mince 1 cup of the mint and parsley together with the garlic to a fine paste and transfer it to a large bowl. Lightly pan-roast the pine nuts. Add the olives, raisins, and any residual liquid and the pine nuts to the bowl along with the capers, pecorino, bread crumbs, and the egg. Generously grind on the pepper. Work the elements to a well-amalgamated paste. The pecorino and capers should be salty enough to flavor the paste, but after tasting it, add a bit more if you wish.
• Lay the bracioline on a work surface and pound them lightly but firmly with a mallet, thinning the flesh a bit. Spread each steak with a good tablespoon of the paste, roll it into a fat little sausage shape, and secure the braciolina with a toothpick. Over a lively flame, heat the oil in a large sauté pan and very quickly cook the bracioline, sautéing them well but taking only a minute or so to do it so as not to overcook the fish. Remove the bracioline to a holding plate.
• When all are cooked, discard any remaining oil and rinse the pan with the 2/3 cup of Malvasia, scraping and stirring and permitting the wine to reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the bracioline and present them, strewn with 1/2 cup mint leaves, warm or at room temperature.
• Sacrificing the beauty of the sauce, one could skewer the bracioline onto well-soaked grapevine twigs, olive wood twigs, thick branches of rosemary, or metal skewers, alternating them with bay leaves and roasting them over a very hot wood fire for a minute or two on each side, basting them with olive oil. They'll need some accessory-a spoonful of warm tomato vinaigrette would do nicely.

PESCE SPADA SOTTO SALE CON MARMELLATA DI LIMONE ALL' ALFONSO LONGO

Steps:

• Prepare the fish and lay the slices in one or two large, shallow ceramic dishes. In a mortar with a pestle, pound the sea salt with the brown sugar, finely grinding the two together. Rub the poultice onto both sides of each slice of fish, baptizing the whole with grappa or vodka and strewing the lot with the fennel fronds.
• Cover the dish or dishes tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two days, turning the fish once or twice a day.
• To present the fish, remove some of the larger pieces of fennel fronds and lay the cured slices on a large, flat platter, drizzling them with any drops of liquid that might have accumulated during the cure. Strew the fish with the fried lemon zest, passing lemon marmalade and a basket of crostini (see below for zest, marmalade, and crostini).
• First weigh the lemons, or have them weighed at the fruit market, as you'll be using two-thirds their weight in sugar to make the puckery jam. Slice the lemons fairly thin and toss them into a heavy, shallow pan with the prescribed sugar and enough water to barely cover them.
• Over a lively flame, stirring constantly, cook the mixture for a few minutes, then lower the flame and, still stirring, cook for 20 minutes or so, until the water has evaporated and the fruit is softened and trapped in a glossy, thick syrup.
• Let the marmalade cool and then portion it out into 2 or 3 jars with tight-fitting lids to store in the refrigerator. The confection will stay nicely for a week to ten days.
• Finely shred the lemon zest. In a small saucepan, barely cover the zest with cold water and bring to a simmer. Quickly drain the zest and dry on absorbent paper towels.
• Over a lively flame in a small saucepan, warm the olive oil and sauté the zest, tossing it about, letting it crisp a bit and take on a good, deep color.
• In a large sauté pan over a medium flame, warm the olive oil and brown the bread well on both sides, cooking it until it is quite crisp.
• Let the crostini rest a bit on absorbent paper towels before placing them in a napkin-lined basket.