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| Victor and Marcella Hazan |
There is a sad anniversary this week. It’s been a year since the world lost Marcella Hazan, that wonderfully giving Italian food prophet with whom I struck up a friendship over the internet. Fortunately, when you are as good as Marcella, your presence in the kitchen will not go with you. And fortunately too, Marcella’s partner in life and in the kitchen, Victor Hazan, has kept Marcella’s memory most alive for fans and friends on her Facebook page.
By complete coincidence, when I was poking around for a recipe for swordfish, what should appear before me but Ina Garten’s Sicillian Grilled Swordfish recipe which Ina said was inspired by Marcella. I found it in Ina’s “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof” (Clarkson Potter 2012). This recipe certainly keeps up with the title of the book. It’s one of the easiest things I have cooked all summer. It might take all of 15 minutes to put together. And it delivers such fresh and full flavor that I wanted to share it with you. And since we may be heading into the end of corn season, I wanted to also share an Ina recipe for Confetti Corn. It’s appeared here before. But it is perfect with this dish.
Swordfish is found in the local waters surrounding on Long Island as you can see from this illustration of this magnificent fish. In fact, judging from its price this summer, it’s abundant in these waters. Its meaty white flesh makes it a kind of seafood steak. Unlike tuna, which seems to thrive on being merely seared, to me swordfish tastes best when it is cooked through–to a uniform whiteness from center to sides. I generally like to cook swordfish that is about 1 inch thick. Ina’s Marcella-inspired rendition calls for swordfish that’s a 1/2 inch thick but I used slightly thicker fish and just cooked it a little longer. If you use a grill pan, you can actually see if the fish is cooked through by monitoring the sides. Ina’s recipe uses a sauce that closely resembles a salad dressing. The fish is cooked, then pricked with the tines of a fork. The sauce is then poured over and the fish is allowed to rest for 5 minutes. Peppery baby arugula then tops the fish and the sauce does double duty as dressing for the arugula. The sweetness of the corn, onions and red peppers in Ina’s Confetti corn struck me as a great side dish to serve with the fish’s lemon-y tartness. This would make a perfect weeknight dinner but don’t let that stop you from making this weekend. Especially since that corn at the farm stand isn’t going to be there much longer. Here are the recipes.
Recipe for Sicillian Swordfish from Ina Garten inspired by Marcella Hazan This recipe serves 6 however I made it for two and cut the sauce down by half. It takes 15 minutes to make. 5 mins Prep, 5 minutes to cook and 5 minutes to absorb its lemon-y sauce.
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 (1/2-inch-thick) swordfish steaks (5 to 6 ounces each)
4 ounces baby arugula
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1. Light a charcoal grill or preheat a gas or stovetop grill until very hot.
2. For the sauce, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.
3. When the grill is ready, sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on one side, then turn and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the other side until almost cooked through.
4. Remove to a flat dish, prick holes in the fish with the tines of a fork, and pour the lemon sauce over the fish while its still hot. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5. When ready to serve, place the swordfish on dinner plates or a serving platter, pile the arugula on top, drizzle with the sauce from the fish, and sprinkle with the grated lemon zest. Serve warm.
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten’s Confetti Corn from “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics (Clarkson Potter 2008). Total Time: 30 minutes.
Prep 15 mins. Cooking Time 15 mins. Serves 6.
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red or white onion
1 red bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kernels cut from 5 ears yellow or white corn (4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the
onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell
pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn is just cooked through.Season to taste and serve.
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