Serves 6
Notes
The Calabrian coast is where the magnificent swordfish that migrate to this corner of the Tyrrhenian Sea every year are most plentiful. Make sure you buy fresh swordfish for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds swordfish steak, 1 ¼-inch thick, with skin
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons small capers, drained
- 4 plump cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Directions
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. You will need a 4-quart baking dish,10 by 15 inches, or similar size; a roasting pan large enough to hold the baking dish inside it (on the rack); and a sturdy flat metal baking/roasting rack to fit inside the roasting pan. Cut the swordfish steak into six serving pieces. Pour the olive oil into the baking dish, and scatter in the lemon slices, capers, and garlic. Turn the lemon slices over to coat them with oil, and gather them to one side of the dish. Season the swordfish pieces on both sides with salt, lay them in the dish in one layer, coat with oil on all surfaces. Distribute the lemon slices on top.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Set the baking rack in the big roasting pan, and pour in boiling water to the depth of an inch. Put the dish of swordfish on the rack in the roasting pan, and tent the big pan with a large sheet of aluminum foil. Arch the sheet over the fish, and press it against the sides of the roasting pan. Carefully set the covered pan in the oven, and bake just until the swordfish is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove the foil, and lift the baking dish from the pan and out of the oven. Immediately crumble the oregano over the hot swordfish and into the pan juices, then sprinkle the parsley over everything. Serve right away, placing each piece of swordfish in a warm shallow bowl and spooning some of the cooking juices over it.