Grilled Swordfish, Green Chile Cream

This is one of the most satisfying ways to prepare grilled swordfish. A soft bed of sautéed spinach for a nicely grilled piece of swordfish garnished with a creamy tangy sauce bolstered by mild green chilies, all enhanced by sautéed cherry tomatoes, make for a fine summer BBQ offering.

5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves

2 Tbsp butter plus 2 Tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, finely minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

About 6-8 oz cherry (or grape) tomatoes (I used cherry on the vine)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Palmful fresh parsley, minced

1 4 oz can diced green chilies, drained

1/4 cup dry white wine

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 lb fresh swordfish fillet (ideally at least 1-inch thick)

Preheat the BBQ grill.

Season the swordfish on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Generously, pour olive oil over fish and flip fish several times.

Wilt the spinach in a large skillet with a dash of olive oil. Set wilted leaves aside.

In same skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Sauté the shallot for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat another 3-5 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften and the shallot turns a bit golden.

Add the cream, parsley, green chilies, wine and lemon juice and zest. Bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce to the lowest simmer you can.

Turn heat off the sauce while you grill the swordfish over high heat for about 3 minutes. Flip and continue grilling, carefully pouring on some of the residual olive oil to make a few flares to enhance the browning.

Use caution because a small amount of olive oil goes a long way and can produce quite some flare-ups. But the browning is worth the careful work.

Cook until the internal temperature of the fillet reaches 130F as measured by an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the tomatoes (on-vine are convenient for this!) to a plate and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Stir and cook until slightly thickened as desired.

Re-warm the tomatoes in the thickened sauce.

Lay some sauce on a plate and top with tomatoes. Spread half the spinach next to the sauce and top with half the fish. Garnish fish with a bit more sauce.

Serves 2.

Comments

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