pesce spada con melanzane e pomodori
You know that feeling you get in the winter when you want to cook something that makes you feel bright and sunny, like Sicilian swordfish with eggplant and tomatoes? But the only tomatoes in the supermarket have an unappealing off-red color and you can tell they have no intention of ever becoming ripe and juicy?
Luckily we don’t have that problem in Italy. There’s a beautiful island called Sicily that grows endless varieties of ripe tomatoes year-round and they appear on our supermarket shelves in all of their bright red loveliness.
However, don’t worry. This Sicilian swordfish with eggplant and tomatoes recipe is also great for out of season, non-Sicilian tomatoes as well. The technique of stewing down tomatoes with other lovely flavors like capers, olives and white wine, transforms even the most lack-luster tomato.
This Italian dish would be delicious served over pasta or simply with a side of crusty bread to help shovel heaps of swordfish and eggplant onto your fork. Variations of this dish not including the swordfish, are called caponata, which is where the ingredients might be chopped up smaller and cooked down further, creating more of a side dish, condiment, or dip.
Ingredients
- Swordfish
- Eggplants
- Red onion
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Dry white wine
- Capers
- Green olives
- Dried thyme
- Fresh parsley leaves
- Fresh basil leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
Step by Step
This Sicilian-style swordfish with eggplant and tomatoes recipe starts by broiling eggplant cubes until they are slightly charred.
Meanwhile, sauté a red onion and cook down some fresh tomatoes. You can mix any varieties of tomatoes. You can even cheat and add in some diced canned tomatoes if you don’t have enough fresh. If your pan dries out because your tomatoes weren’t very juicy, just add in a few splashes of water to help along your sauce. We then add in tomato paste, dried thyme and the roasted eggplant.
This on its own would make a delicious sauce to put on pasta. However, I recommend you forge ahead because the rest of the recipe is a winner.
Remove the cooked eggplant and tomato sauce mixture from the pan and set aside. You don’t need to scrape out the pan completely; it’s all going to get reincorporated later. Cook garlic in a bit of oil and add the white wine, salty capers, olives, and a pinch of salt. What delightful flavors!
Add in the swordfish and cook a few minutes per side. For this recipe, I used frozen swordfish steaks that I cut into cubes, but you can also use fresh swordfish. Return the eggplant and tomato mixture to the pan and bring up to a gentle simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow all the flavors to meld and get friendly. Garnish with fresh flat-leaf parsley, basil and a squeeze of lemon.
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Sicilian Swordfish with Eggplant and Tomatoes Recipe
Sicilian Swordfish with Eggplant and Tomatoes
Course: Secondi Piatti4-6
servings15
minutes35
minutesIngredients
2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 4cm cubes
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium red onion, diced
300g chopped fresh tomatoes *see note
2 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
70ml dry white wine
2 Tbsp capers
40g green olives, pitted and sliced
400g swordfish, cut into 4cm cubes
3 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven broiler and position a rack 10 cm from the heat source.
- Toss cubed eggplant in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Broil until golden and charred in some spots, flipping the eggplant pieces halfway through cooking, 2 to 4 minutes per side.
- As eggplant broils, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with ½ tsp salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes break down and turn saucy, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water to the pan if it starts to dry out.
- Stir in tomato paste, dried thyme, ¼ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggplant to the pan, and turn heat to medium-low. Cook until the mixture is tender, 5-10 minutes. Transfer eggplant mixture to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan set over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant and lightly golden brown, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add wine, olives, capers and a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Add swordfish, and cook through, gently turning the pieces so they don’t fall apart, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Return eggplant and tomato mixture to the pan. Heat on medium until the mixture bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Stir in parsley. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and basil leaves. Can be served on it’s own or over freshly made pasta.
Notes
- *any varieties of fresh tomatoes can be used, a portion of canned diced tomatoes can be supplemented for some of the fresh tomatoes as well
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