sicilian swordfish spiedini - American Pistachio Growers

SICILIAN SWORDFISH SPIEDINI
An exclusive recipe
developed by
Nancy Silverton
SICILIAN SWORDFISH SPIEDINI
Serves 8 to 10
Spiedini means “skewers” in Italian. The first place
in Italy that I saw spiedini was Sicily, where you see
assembled spiedini of various meat and fish for
people to buy to cook at home. This recipe is based
on those we serve at Chi Spacca, but we use
amberjack, a steak-like fish similar to swordfish.
Since amberjack can be elusive to the home cook,
we adapted this recipe to work with swordfish or ahi
tuna. Because I think of spiedini as Sicilian, when I
serve them at home, I am inspired by other Sicilian
flavors, but in truth, they would be delicious with
any of the Italian-leaning vegetables in the book.
Note: If you are not cooking these on an
outdoor grill, you will need a square or
rectangular grill pan to cook them, since
you can only fit one skewer in a round grill
pan. You will also need a mandolin to
slice the zucchini as thinly as it needs to
be sliced for this recipe, and 8 to 10 long
(at least 10-inch) skewers, preferably
metal. If you’re using wooden skewers,
soak them in water for at least 1 hour
before assembling the spiedini.
For the Marinade
2 cups packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
cup garlic cloves (about 12 medium or large cloves)
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
For the Spiedini
1½ pounds zucchini
64 fresh bay leaves, or as needed
3½ pounds (1½-inch thick) skinless swordfish
or ahi tuna steaks (or amberjack), cut into
1½- to 2-inch cubes
4 lemons
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing the lemons
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil
Maldon sea salt (or another flaky sea salt such
as fleur de sel)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
(from about 2 tablespoons packed whole leaves)
To make the marinade, combine the parsley, olive oil, garlic, and chile
flakes in the bowl of a miniature food processor or the jar of a blender
fitted with a metal blade and purée. Set aside.
To prepare the spiedini, cut the stems and tips off of each zucchini and
slice them lengthwise ⅛-inch thick on a mandolin.
Organize the zucchini slices, bay leaves, fish cubes, and skewers on a
flat work surface to create an assembly line. Building one skewer at a
time, put a bay leaf on a skewer, pushing the leaf toward the bottom of
the skewer. Stack two zucchini slices, roll them like a fruit roll-up, and
spear them on the skewer, pushing the rolled zucchini slices to meet
the bay leaf. Add another bay leaf, then a cube of fish. Build two more
layers, adding another bay leaf, doubled zucchini slice roll, bay leaf, a
second cube of fish, bay leaf, zucchini roll, bay leaf, third cube of fish,
bay leaf, zucchini roll, and finishing with a bay leaf. Assemble all of the
skewers in the same way.
Divide the spiedini between two large sealable plastic bag, taking care
not to puncture the bags with the skewers or put them in a large
non-reactive baking dish. Pour the marinade into the bags, dividing it
evenly, or into the dish. Turn the spiedini to coat the fish on all sides
and gently massage the marinade into the fish with your hands. If you
are marinating the fish in bags, put the bags into a baking dish to
catch any marinade that might leak out of them. Set the fish aside to
marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator for
up to 2 hours; bring the spiedini to room temperature before grilling.
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill. (Alternatively, preheat a
square or rectangular grill pan over high heat. Cooking method and
times will be the same as for grilling.)
Cut the lemons in half through the middle and cut ½-inch off of the
pointed ends so each lemon half has two flat surfaces. Brush the cut
ends of the lemon halves with olive oil.
Remove the spiedini from the marinade. Sprinkle with the salt and a
light coat of pepper; discard the marinade. Put the spiedini on the grill
or in the grill pan and cook for 14 to 16 minutes for swordfish, about 12
minutes for tuna, turning to cook all sides evenly, until the fish is
cooked through; it will firm to the touch and doesn’t stick to the grill.
(The most sure-fire way to test for doneness is to remove one cube of
fish from a skewer and tear it open; it’s done when it is opaque
throughout.) Remove the skewers from the grill as the fish is done.
While the spiedini are grilling, place the lemon halves on the grill or in
the grill pan with the fish with the larger, center side of the lemons
facing down, for about 2 minutes, until the lemons are golden brown.
Turn the lemon halves and cook the smaller sides for about 30 seconds
just to warm them.
To serve, lay the spiedini facing in one direction on a large rectangular
or square platter. Drizzle the spiedini with finishing-quality oil and
sprinkle them with sea salt and the parsley. Nestle
the lemon halves around the spiedini on the
platter and serve.
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Per 1 ounce serving,
about 49 nuts.