From the kitchen of La Dolce Vita Wine Tours:
SICILIAN SWORDFISH ROLL with CURRENTS & PINE NUTS
Sicily is a mecca for seafood-lovers, and one of its most ubiquitous dishes is swordfish. The variations are endless: grilled swordfish steaks, transparent swordfish sashimi, smoked swordfish medallions. But one of my favorite recipes offers a combination of classic Sicilian ingredients, including pine nuts, anchovies, and plumped raisins. This recipe comes from Alice Waters, and it's a real dazzler at dinner parties.
TIP: To slice swordfish thin enough, get some help from your fishmonger. My neighborhood fish store happens to have a sushi bar inside, so I rely on those chefs' skill and sharp knives to cut thin, even cross-sections of swordfish. Your fishmonger might do the same.
(Servers 4-6)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for drizzling
1 small onion
1 pinch saffron threads
3 salt-packed anchovies
2 oranges
1/4 cup dried currants or sultana raisins
1/4 pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
salt and pepper
1-1/2 lbs. swordfish, cut into 12 slices 1/8-inch thick and about 4x6 inches
bay leaves
Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil, spread them onto a baking sheet, and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.
Dice onion and gently saute with saffron in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft, about 12 minutes. Rinse and fillet the anchovies and chop coarsely. Squeeze 1/4 cup juice from one of the oranges and pour it over the currants or raisins to plump them. Toast the pine nuts just until golden, about 7 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, onion, anchovies, currants (with their orange juice), pine nuts, parsley, and oregano. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Lay out swordfish slices and season with salt and pepper. Spoon about 2 tablespoons stuffing onto each slice and roll up. Arrange on each roll, flap side down, in an oiled baking dish just big enough to hold them all snugly.
Cut the remaining orange in half vertically through the stem and cut each in 1/4-inch-thick half-moons slices. Wedge the orange slices and bay leaves between the swordfish rolls, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes, until the rolls are opaque and firm to the touch.
SIDE DISH: Thanks to Sicily's proximity to Morocco, couscous is a common side dish. A Moroccan-style vegetable couscous makes a nice accompaniment to this swordfish. Prepare it using sliced almonds, golden raisins, cumin, coriander, and chopped vegetables.
WINE RECOMMENDATIONS: Reach for one of Sicily's delicious whites to accompany this feast:
ANGIMBE, BY CUSUMANO
A blend of indigenous Insolia and elegant Chardonnay, Amgimbe is a lovely, complex wine with floral notes, bright fruit, and full body. It comes from the Cusumano estate in western Sicily, run by brothers Diego and Alberto Cusumano, third-generation vintners. Last year Cusumano was among the world's 50 Great Producers named by Wine Spectator. This wine helps demonstrate why.
COMETA, BY PLANETA
Fiano is associated with Campania, brought there by the Greeks 700 years ago. But recently Sicilian winemakers have begun planting it on the island. Some of the best results have come from the Planeta winery. Their Cometa is a 100% Fiano, fermented in wood and aged in stainless steel. It grabs your attention with an enticing, aromatic nose (peach, citrus), following by nice minerality and lively character on the palate. Grab it whenever you can find it.
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