Swordfish Piccata

Swordfish Piccata
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,792)
Comments
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Learning to build a pan sauce is the highest yielding 25 minutes you'll ever spend in a kitchen. Pay attention to the flame at each step. Use high heat to sear properly and develop fond in the pan, reduced heat to add acid and build flavor, and then no heat at all — turn the burner off! — to whisk in the cold butter and build up your elegant, emulsified, (life-altering) pan sauce.

Featured in: Buttered Swordfish for Finicky Kids — With Plenty of Sauce for the Adults

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • pounds swordfish steak, cut into ¾-inch slabs
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½cup Wondra flour
  • 2tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 9tablespoons butter
  • 1tablespoon finely minced shallot
  • cup dry white wine
  • 2tablespoons capers
  • Juice of ½ lemon plus 2 lemon “cheeks” for garnish
  • 1tablespoon minced parsley, plus a sprig for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

1239 calories; 89 grams fat; 39 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 16 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 73 grams protein; 1375 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season the swordfish gently but evenly on both sides with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Dredge the fish in the flour, patting off any excess.

  3. Step 3

    In a cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat grapeseed oil until just smoking over medium-high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of the butter until melted and bubbling, about 30 seconds.

  4. Step 4

    Place the swordfish in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the swordfish to a warm plate, and remove any excess fat from the sauté pan.

  6. Step 6

    While the pan is still hot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, sweat the shallots and cook until soft and cooked through, being careful not to brown. About 30 seconds.

  7. Step 7

    Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and reduce by half.

  8. Step 8

    Add the capers and lemon juice, and cook for 1 minute.

  9. Step 9

    Take the pan off the heat, and add in the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, swirling the pan continuously to emulsify the butter.

  10. Step 10

    Add in the minced parsley, and season to taste.

  11. Step 11

    Spoon the sauce over the fish, and garnish with a lemon cheek and a parsley stem.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,792 user ratings
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Comments

1/6 cup of wine? Seriously? Who has a measuring cup with 1/6 marked? I've worked it out, and that comes to 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of white wine. Couldn't we just go with 3 tbsp and call it a day?

What other fish can I use beside swordfish?

My husband said this is wonderful. He saw the recipe, sent it to me, and suggested it for dinner, then raved about it. I'm keeping him. And keeping the recipe, too.

Wondra, by the way, is superfine flour, also called instant flour.

Company food! Made exactly as written. Served with cous cous to sop up the sauce. Major success to spark up a relatively bland fish and make it shine.

This recipe is definitely better than it should be! Easy, quick and delicious! Skipped the flour and paired with roasted broccoli to make a fantastic low carb dinner. We’ll make it again for sure and it would be great with any firm white fish.

Note to Betsy regarding the carb from the flour: I did dredge the fish in flour and my blood sugar stayed stable after lunch even after three hours (my side was steamed cauliflower with light cheese sauce and a green salad).

Made this last night and my husband said it was better than our local seafood restaurant! The fish was thicker so after browning I turned the heat down a bit and cooked it longer. I eyeballed the wine in my measuring cup as roughly 1/6 cup, forgot the parsley, and stirred the sauce instead of swirling the pan because I’m klutzy but otherwise followed the recipe as written. This will definitely be in the Saturday night rotation!

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