Saturday, May 06, 2006
Swordfish with Orange Glaze
Shopping in the pouring rain is no fun. But if you sit inside while the sun is shining in the morning and only get dressed as the clouds move
in, that is exactly what you have to do. And being as this is what I did, that is exactly what I had to do. The market wasn't much fun with everybody huddled up under the canopies and no room to stroll around. I still managed to enjoy myself sufficiently to rid myself of my weekly food allowance. In the process I picked up some baby beetroots, spinach, yet more rhubarb, a handful of samphire, shallots, loads of fresh herbs, wild mushrooms, cauliflower, peas, fennel, the last of this season's purple sprouting broccoli and two swordfish steaks.The latter was turned into pan-seared swordfish on a bed of orange glazed beet leaves with boiled new potatoes and a medley of spring vegetables. Unfortunately, the fish was not as good as it looked so the orange glaze was overpowering. Actually, let me re-phrase that. The dish was not really poorly balanced. For people like Lofty and me who are suspicious of mixing savoury and sweet foods it was simply too fruity. But I'm sure that people who enjoy such combinations would actually like it. And if we briefly pretend that the sauce was not there, the rest of the dish was quite well conceived. In my opinion the combination of the earthy beet leaves, the fresh spring vegetables and the firm, mild fish worked really well. This is why I've chosen to share the recipe with you today. At first I wasn't going to post it, but then realised that the point of a blog is not to remain silent, but to share you life, your ideas and your thoughts. So, I think that the dish can be nice both ways and now it is up to you to decide how much, if any, orange glaze you want to add.
For the fish:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 swordfish steaks (blue marlin would probably be even nicer and most white fish would work equally well)
a few pinches of sea salt
For the orange glaze:
1 tbsp butter
½ shallot, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1cm fresh ginger, grated
½ orange, grated zest and juice
50ml white wine
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
For the spring vegetable medley:
1 tbsp butter
1 shallot
1 good handful of fresh peas (measured without the shell)
200g green asparagus, cleaned and chopped into 2 cm long chunks
2 tbsp samphire, chopped
5 mint leaves, chopped
a pinch of turmeric
a few drops of water
sea salt and pepper to taste
For the beet leaves:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 handfuls of beet leaves (just take the leaves off the lovely fresh beet roots you can buy at the moment; alternatively you can use Swiss chard, red chard or bok choi)
a few spoonfuls of water
salt to taste
2 tbsp butter (only if you are not using the orange glaze)
To serve:
baby potatoes
sesame seeds
For the orange glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the shallot, cover and sweat until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and orange peel and continue frying until fragrant. Add the white wine and bring to the boil. Reduce to ½ tablespoon. Stir in the sugar and orange juice and allow to caramelise lightly, then add the soy sauce. Set aside.
For the vegetables, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and fry until translucent. Add the turmeric and continue frying for a minute. Turn down the heat and add the vegetables. Cover and sweat until tender, about 8 minutes. If the pan appears dry, add a few drops of water. Season to taste with sea salt.
Heat the oil for the fish in a large fellow frying pan over medium high heat.
In the meantime make a start on the beet leaves, heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for a minute. Do not allow to brown. Add the leaves and a little bit of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves have collapsed and are tender. Season to taste with salt, bearing in mind that the orange glaze contains a bit of salt too.
When the pan for the fish is really hot, add the steaks and fry without disturbing for about 3 minutes until browned. Turn and brown the other side.
To serve, toss the beet leaves with the orange glaze. Arrange in the centre of a plate and top with the fish. Scatter with spring vegetables and sesame seeds. Serve with baby potatoes.
Christine at 10:14 pm
