Lightly Seasoned Swordfish Served with Asparagus

2010-2-20

I was born in the South where casseroles seem the standard fare. Dishes full of cheese or butter (or in the deep, deep South, lard) are coveted ingredients. Not that there are no advantages to using cheese or butter in dishes whatsoever, those ingredients can easily overpower the subtle and fine flavors of various vegetables or meats. Such is the case, I believe, with asparagus and swordfish; butter isn't necessary to make those tasty or appetizing.

Last week, I purchased wildly caught swordfish on sale at Sunflower Farmer's Market (hooray for sales) but didn't cook it until this morning (shame on me for waiting so long). This morning, I cooked asparagus and swordfish for my husband and me for breakfast this morning and it was mouthwatering. The girls kept asking for more and more fish.

The following recipe and directions are my own creation.

Ingredients:

• wild caught swordfish
• a bundle of asparagus
• green onions, cut finely
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
  
• olive oil
• sea salt
• chicken broth

Directions:

Place the green onions and garlic, with a small or modest amount of olive oil in a pan on medium (closer to low than high) heat. Once the green onions and onion smell fragrant, drop in the asparagus.(which I cut and rinsed). I added a bit of sea salt and chicken broth while it was cooking. Pull out the asparagus, leaving the liquid (olive oil, chicken broth, juices from the asparagus) and most of the green onions and garlic behind in the pan.

Then cook the swordfish in the pan. My swordfish wasn't frozen upon cooking. The swordfish was almost seared, a bit transparent towards the middle. It wasn't bloody or runny when I finished. I cooked it approximately no more than 3-5 minutes on each side. I added sea salt to each side of the swordfish.

Suggestions, tips, and comments:

• This fish, tempered with garlic and green onions, does NOT taste fishy.
• This fish is easily overcooked. Overcooked, not only does it lose a great deal of its tastiness and it's size/volume, but it's forever chewy.
• Again, it doesn't need butter or cheese to make it tasty and flavorful. My husband, who seems to add cheese to nearly everything he eats, enjoyed the dish the way I made it.

Bon appetit!