How am I coping with these unprecedented times you ask? You didn’t ask, but I answer you none-the-less, NOT WELL. I mean, to be fair, aside from constantly trying to find new ways to channel my anxiety and internalize my rage against the administration and its disregard for science or human life; I have managed to put together a few coping mechanisms. For one, I do cherish my Saturday morning socially-distant forays to the essential business that is the 32nd Street Farmer’s Market in Waverly in order to leverage a single trip to both procure my food for the week and support the farmers and vendors who so need it in this time. I’ve also been using the common sense guidance to limit trips outside the home as a reason to go treasure hunting in my freezer for delicacies bought on a whim or “on sale” but long forgotten during the days of daily Whole Food’s stops and dining out in actual restaurants. Tonight’s recipe was born of the two. I picked up some gorgeous courgettes (eggplants if you’re #basic, but I am basic so heretofore referred to as eggplants) this weekend and had been agonizing over how to use them this week in a way that didn’t involve stuffing them or turning them into some twist on babaghanoush (those are just trusty and tired TBQH). In a stroke of brilliance, fate would have me clamoring around my freezer one night after too much wine reaching for ice cream i really didn’t need only to have my hand alight on a pair of swordfish steaks I had tossed into the abyss a month or so ago. I never found that ice cream, and perhaps that’s for the best, but I did have the wherewithal to put the swordfish in the fridge to defrost. And here we are! Swordfish and Eggplant are like the odd couple. They can both be hard to pair with anything else, but somehow together, the herbal eggplant and mildly sweet but definitely meaty swordfish just WERK! You can tell by this point that I’ve had happy hour wine, I’m glad that’s out there in the open. Ok, so a quick flip through the online annuls of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Savuer and the decision is made; Grilled Swordfish & Caponata is on the menu. As is typical, I did my own riff on both these components. For the caponata, I skipped the caper/olives that are typical, and added some smokey depth by grilling the eggplants and adding a bit of smoked paprika. For the swordfish, I used my go-to technique of brushing the steak with an aioli (seasoned mayo mixture) in order to lock in flavor and more importantly moisture, as swordfish has a propensity to get dry (at not-so-deft a cook’s hand). Hope you enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
For the Caponata
2 medium eggplant, trimmed
½ cup evoo, plus more for the grill
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 medium shallot minced
2 Tbsp. drained capers, finely chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp. dried oregano, plus fresh sprigs for garnish (all fresh is fine too)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 medium heirloom tomatoes, halved, thickly sliced
Sea salt, freshly ground pepper
For the Fish
2 10-oz. swordfish steaks, about 1" thick
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 lemon
RECIPE PREPARATION
Prepare a grill pan for medium-high heat; lightly oil.
Peel eggplant lengthwise to create alternating 2-inch-wide intervals of peeled and unpeeled skin.
Cut eggplant crosswise into 6 slices, each about 1 inch thick.
Brush eggplant slices with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill eggplant slices until charred and very tender when pierced with knife, about 8 minutes per side.
Toast pine nuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until golden, about 4 minutes.
Let cool and set aside for serving.
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise with garlic powder, herbs, paprika, and ground peppers to aioli.
Pat swordfish dry and place on a rimmed baking sheet, let sit at room temperature 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk vinegar, capers, shallots, crushed red pepper, paprika, oregano, and ½ cup oil in a small bowl to combine; set marinade aside.
Arrange tomatoes and grilled eggplant slices on a platter, overlapping slightly; set aside. I used an oven safe platter, so I placed this platter in a 200 degree oven so that my caponata would be warm, totally optional.
Brush swordfish on one side with aioli and grill (brushed side down) undisturbed, until grill marks appear, about 4 minutes brushing mayo on dry side.
Carefully turn over and cook on second side until fish is opaque all the way through, about 4 minutes.
Transfer to platter with tomatoes and eggplant.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour reserved marinade over and let sit at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour (again, mine was on an oven safe platting, so this spend 15 minutes maintaining heat).
To serve, scatter reserved pine nuts over top and garnish with fresh oregano sprigs
