The Captain's Swordfish

My uncle is a sea captain. He spent most of his career working on cargo ships & had many adventures at sea, including high risk encounters with pirates. This is one of the first recipes I wrote down, at the age of 16, when my uncle took a short term contract leading a team of deep sea fishermen on a catamaran off the coast of Reunion Island, where we lived at the time. He took this job especially to be able to visit with us and after a week at sea he popped by our house with the tail end of a swordfish. As we awed over the size of such a creature (or at least's the size of a third of it), he got straight to work cutting the swordfish into thick steaks. He was no chef but his style of cooking the fish was beautifully simple and yet packed with flavour. I will never forget the meal he cooked us that evening. It was the first time I had tasted swordfish & it has remained a firm favourite since. If you cannot find a Herbes de Provence blend you can create your own by mixing together 1 tbsp of each of the following herbs: thyme, oregano, basil & rosemary. Enjoy!

4 Servings

Ingredients:

4 swordfish steaks (roughly 600-800gr)

200ml olive oil

4 tbsp of Herbes de Provence

2 tomatoes, finely sliced into thin circles as shown in the photo

2 fennels, finely sliced lengthways

60ml white wine

60ml cream

1 heaped tbsp butter

S&P

Instructions:

Heat your oven to 180c for fan assisted ovens & 200c for traditional ovens.

Drizzle 1/2 of the olive oil into a baking tray.

Place the swordfish steaks on to the tray & season with salt, pepper & half of the Herbes de Provence (1/2 tsp per steak).

Cover each steak with a layer of tomatoes & season again with salt, pepper & the other half of the Herbes de Provence (1/2 tsp per steak).

Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top & bake for 20-30 minutes. The cooking time will very much depend on the thickness of the steaks. They should be cooked through (white all the way through) but avoid over cooking or they will become very dry.

While the steaks are cooking, melt the butter & cook on medium low, stirring regularly for around 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.

Add the white wine & reduce for 5 minutes.

Add the cream & season with salt & pepper.

Simmer a further 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Serve the swordfish steaks with a side of fennel & rice.

This dish also pairs very well with any form of potato or quinoa.