This perfect summer recipe is adapted from the McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant Cookbook, which I recently received from my boss at work (Thanks, Bill!). I was drawn to this recipe because the salsa reminded me of the one we created to use in our fish taco recipe — mangoes, pineapple, cilantro, onion — and the coconut curry rice sounded awesome. We weren’t let down, we both really enjoyed this dish. Hooray for grilling season! The recipe may look a bit complicated because you have to make the sauce(s) separately, but they come together pretty quickly.

Lisa says:

Oh my GAWD — I love this rice.

Chris says:

Weren’t you just talking about coconut curry rice this weekend?

Lisa says:

Yes! My dinner at Bick’s came with that rice.

Chris says:

How does this compare?

Lisa says:

This wins because we made it here.

Chris says:

I really like the mango barbecue sauce — fruity, smokey, and just a little kick of spice from the chutney.

Lisa says:

…and of course, the mango salsa rules.

Chris says:

…of course. There’s triple sec in it.

Mango Barbecued Swordfish
2 7-oz swordfish steaks
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt
pepper
1/2 cup Mango Barbecue Sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup long-grain rice
3/4 cup Coconut Curry Sauce (recipe below)
6 tbsp Tropical Fruit Salsa (recipe below)
cilantro, for garnish

Oil and season the fish with salt and pepper, and grill for 4 minute per side, or until just done. Baste frequently with the Mango Barbecue Sauce. Prepare the rice per package directions, and when done, pour 1/2 the Coconut Curry Sauce in and toss to coat. Place the rice in the center of the serving plates. Place the fish on the rice and drizzle the remaining sauce around the plate. Top the fish with the salsa and sprigs of cilantro.

2 Servings

Coconut Curry Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp green Thai curry paste
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp kosher salt

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients and simmer for 8-10 minutes until somewhat thickened.

Makes 2 cups

Mango Barbecue Sauce
4 tbsp coconut milk
1/2 cup hot mango chutney
1 mango, peeled and diced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
4 tbsp store-bought barbecue sauce

Combine all ingredients in food processor and puree until smooth.

Makes 1 cup

Tropical Fruit Salsa
2 tbsp fresh mango, diced 1/4 inch
2 tbsp fresh papaya, diced 1/4 inch
4 tbsp fresh pineapple, diced 1/4 inch
2 tbsp diced red onion
2 tbsp diced red bell pepper
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
salt, pinch
pepper, pinch
cumin, pinch
1 tsp cilantro
2 splashes triple sec

Combine all ingredients, season to taste.

Makes about 1 cup

A full plate courtesy of the Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. Swordfish is baked in a lemony cilantro sauce with onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes. We served it over a couscous with onions and peas, a recipe also from Moosewood.

Chris says:

Lemony!

Lisa says:

And cilantro-y! I love that sauce.

Carrie says:

Wow, I can’t believe I ate this whole thing, but it actually seems pretty light!

Chris says:

It is pretty light — the fish is just baked with lemon juice, herbs, and vegetables… definitely keeps the fish moist.

Swordfish Tagine with Chermoulla
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1 1/2 pounds swordfish
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 fresh chile, seeded, minced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Rinse the fish fillets and set them aside. Prepare a glass baking dish with cooking spray or oil very lightly. Arrange the onions and carrots in a layer to cover the bottom of the dish and place the fillets on top. Lightly sprinkle them with salt.

In a blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, garlic, ginger, cumin, lemon juice, chile and half the chopped tomatoes and puree for form a smooth sauce. Add salt to taste. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish and vegetables and top with remaining chopped tomatoes. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork (about 140F internal temperature).

Albondigas (meatball) Soup is a popular Mexican dish, but it’s quite a bit different when you make it with shrimp and bits of fish, as in this recipe from The Border Cookbook. It’s a bit lighter, and the albondigas are deliciously tender. Until the meatballs actually landed in the broth, I was convinced they were going to just dissolve in the broth, but they stayed whole and just a few minutes later, dinner was served.

Lisa says:

I agree with the writeup, but take issue with “dinner” — don’t you remember that these broth-based soups never make me full?

Chris says:

You said you wanted something light…

Lisa says:

True. These meatballs rule, by the way.

Chris says:

Yeah, I really like them. I like recipes that are a little different, and this fits the bill. I like that it uses two different stocks — it’s not too “fishy” from just using seafood stock.

Lisa says:

The spice level is perfect, too. Yum! You should make this again, but as a first course.

Seafood Albondigas Soup
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Albondigas:
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled
1/4 pound swordfish steak
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 small tomatillos, husked and minced
2 tsp minced cilantro
1 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotles
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup masa harina

Soup:
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 small roma tomatoes, chopped
1-2 canned chipotle peppers, minced
3 cups seafood stock
3 cups chicken stock

Cilantro, for garnish

Add the shrimp to a food processor and puree until it forms a paste. Add the fish, 1 tbsp of the minced onion, the tomatillos, cilantro, adobo sauce, coriander, salt, and egg to the mix. Pulse until the mixture is combined, but not pureed smooth. Add the masa harina to the mixture a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is a thick paste. Remove from the food processor and refrigerate.
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the remaining onions and garlic. Stirring occasionally, cook the onions until they are soft, but before they start to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and chipotles, cover, and cook an additional five minutes. Add the chicken stock and seafood stock, lowering the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, form the seafood mixture into small balls, 3/4″-1″ thick. When the soup is done simmering, add the balls to the soup and poach gently until cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Make sure the soup is at a true simmer and not a boil or the meatballs may fall apart.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cilantro.

Serves 4 as a first course

Tonight I made a cioppino from Great Bowls of Fire. I love the combination of the swordfish and the shrimp in the tomato and fish-stock based broth. The recipe calls for a quarter cup of dry red wine — the one we used was so dark it almost gave the broth a purplish hue!

Chris says:

I loves me some cioppino! This is one of those GBOF recipes that you don’t really notice the heat.

Lisa says:

It tastes really good. Hmm, did you butterfly the shrimp?

Chris says:

Yeah, why?

Lisa says:

Makes it look like calamari or body parts or something.

Chris says:

Well that sounds appetizing; let’s eat!

Mediterranean Swordfish Cioppino
——————————–
1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
3 cups fish stock
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
1/4 dry red wine
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb swordfish steak, cubed
1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 tomato paste
1/4 cup parsley

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and serranos and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the fish stock, stewed tomatoes, wine, oregano, basil, pepper, and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Add the swordfish and shrimp and return to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste and parsley and cook for 5 minutes more.

4 Servings

Tonight I made another recipe from The Olive and The Caper, and this time it featured both of those ingredients. Swordfish marinated in lemon and olive oil is skewered with onions and bay leaves, grilled, and served with an olive and caper tapenade. I followed the recipe as listed below, except that I used less oil than called for. We had asparagus and broccoli cheese couscous on the side.

Lisa says:

Everything’s salty — this is my dream dinner! I usually don’t like olives, but that tapenade is really good. The marinade on the swordfish is so flavorful!

Chris says:

Wow, this rules. I didn’t think bay leaves were used in anything but stews and sauces for flavoring. You can really taste the flavor of them on the onions. Yeah, the tapenade is pretty salty, and so is the couscous — actually that couscous is pretty vile.

Lisa says:

Yeah, I can’t tell if I like it, or if it tastes like vomit.

Chris says:

There’s a winning endorsement… I’m just glad we also had the asparagus. Let’s definitely make that swordfish again, it was delicious.

Swordfish Kebabs with Olive and Caper Tapenade
———————————————-
1 cup lemon and oil marinade (Recipe Follows)
8 to 10 bay leaves, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 pound swordfish, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, quartered, layers separated
2 cups Olive and Caper Tapenade (Recipe Follows)

Marinade:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Olive and Caper Tapenade:
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata or other Greek black olives
4 large cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets, preferably salt-packed
3/4 cup capers, drained
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until chopped as fine as possible.

Place the marinade and the bay leaves in a dish that is large enough to hold all the swordfish chunks in one layer. Add the swordfish and onion and turn to coat it in the marinade. Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Turn the fish once or twice while it is marinating. When you are ready to cook swordfish, heat a grill to medium-hot. String an onion section, a piece of bay leaf, and then a swordfish chunk in a skewer. Repeat, in that order, until the skewer is filled, ending with a piece of onion. Fill all the skewers in this fashion. If there are extra onion sections left over, thread them on a separate skewer and cook them along with the others. Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning once, just until white curds form on top of the fish and the centers are still a bit pink, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a platter and let them sit for the juices to settle, 5 minutes. Arrange the skewers on a platter and serve right away, accompanied by the tapenade.