Mediterranean Swordfish Pasta
After all the elaborate multi-course meals I made and ate during the Thanksgiving break, I am back to making one dish meals. The kids are back at college and all the guests have left and now I have the luxury to just relax and not stress over what to make for each meal (at least until the Christmas break rolls around). I know some women are very organized and plan their weekly meals ahead of time but I am one of those who just like to wing it each night (especially when I am cooking for just me and my husband). Since both my husband and I work from home, the daily errand to some grocery store or another is my one trip to get me out of the house to get some fresh air and some sunlight. So the result is that often what I cook for dinner is dependent upon what I find in the farmer’s market or the local organic market. So yesterday I found some good sword fish at the Whole Foods and after days of eating turkey and leftover turkey sandwiches and turkey soup, the swordfish fish looked very enticing indeed. I made this one with the usual Mediterranean flavors of feta cheese, Harissa (a friend gave me home-made Harissa but you can find jarred Harissa at a Middle-eastern store or at William Sonoma), olives and garlic. The sauce was a blend of all these flavors and a dash or white wine. The Gemelli pasta soaked up all the favors and each bite was flavor packed and delicious and it is a healthy and nutritionally balanced, one dish meal!
Ingredients:
1. ¾ lb of fresh Swordfish (or any sturdy fish filet)
2. One medium sized white onion
3. 2-3 cloves of garlic
4. One large juicy ripe tomato
5. One zucchini
6. One yellow squash
7. 1.5 tablespoons of Harissa (if it is too spicy, reduce quantity according to your taste)
8. 10-22 large green pitted olives
9. ¼ cup of white wine
10. ½ box of Gemelli Pasta
11. 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
12. ¼ cup of crumbled feta cheese
13. A sprig or two of flat-leaf parsley for garnishing
14. Salt and pepper to taste
15. One tablespoon of honey
Directions:
1. In a large heavy bottomed pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil.
2. Peel and slice the onion and the garlic cloves.
3. Add the chopped onions and garlic cloves to the hot pan and stir them.
4. While the onions and garlic are cooking, dice the tomato into small pieces.
5. Add the diced tomato to the pan and stir again. Keep the heat at low.
6. While the tomato and onion are cooking on low heat, slice the zucchini and the yellow squash into thin slices.
7. Add the zucchini and yellow squash slices to the pot. Also add the olives (you can halve them or add whole olives).
8. Add the Harissa to the pot and stir. Continue cooking on low heat for a minute or two.
9. Chop the fish into one square inch pieces (remove the skin).
10. Add the fish pieces to the pot and stir.
11. Add the wine, honey, salt and pepper to the pot and stir. Cover and let everything cook for 5-7 minutes on low heat. Keep an eye on this, and when the fish is cooked (do not overcook the fish pieces – they should be soft and flaky and when done, switch the heat off).
12. While the fish is cooking, boil water and add pasta to it. When the pasta is al dente, drain the water out and then add the cooked pasta to pot and stir. Let this pasta sit in the sauce for a minute or two, so that it absorbs the flavors.
13. Serve the pasta with some crumbled feta on top and a little bit of chopped flat-leaf parsley on top. Sprinkle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top!
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