Pan-Seared Swordfish with Salsa Virgen

Name: Pan-Seared Swordfish with Salsa Virgen
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Argentine
Ingredients: 4 fresh swordfish medallions (about 2 cm thick); 100 ml extra virgin olive oil, for the sauce; Juice of 1 large lemon; 2 tbsp warm water, for the sauce; 2 garlic cloves, chopped extremely fine; 2 tbsp dried oregano (or fresh, chopped); 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; 2 medium fennel bulbs, for the side dish; 1/2 pink grapefruit, segmented, for the side dish; Olive oil, as needed, for searing; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

⏱ 40 min in total🔪 5 min prep🍳 20 min cooking🧊 15 min resting🍽 4 portiesEasy

Swordfish medallions with a herb salsa virgen and a fennel carpaccio: a sophisticated, light, Mediterranean-fresh dish, ready in minutes.

A very hot pan does not "seal in the juices" — that is not a thing. What it does is the Maillard reaction: crust, colour and flavour. What actually stops swordfish drying out is the clock, because it is a lean, firm-fleshed fish that one extra minute ruins: 3 minutes on one side and 2 to 3 on the other, and out.

And in the sauce — an emulsion of olive oil, lemon and oregano, the salmoriglio — the 2 tablespoons of warm water are not there to stretch it: they are what holds the emulsion together. Without them, the oil and the lemon separate the moment you stop whisking.

The sauce goes onto the hot fish, so it takes it up while it rests.

Ingredients

Measurements

🍽 4 servings

4 fresh swordfish medallions (about 2 cm thick)
100 ml extra virgin olive oil, for the sauce
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp warm water, for the sauce
2 garlic cloves, chopped extremely fine
2 tbsp dried oregano (or fresh, chopped)
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 medium fennel bulbs, for the side dish
1/2 pink grapefruit, segmented, for the side dish
Olive oil, as needed, for searing
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1
Take the swordfish medallions out of the fridge about 15 minutes before cooking so they are not ice-cold in the centre. Pat them very dry with kitchen paper.
2
The emulsion (salsa virgen / salmoriglio): in a small bowl, put the extra virgin olive oil, the lemon juice and the two tablespoons of warm water. Whisk energetically with a small balloon whisk until the liquid emulsifies and turns opaque. Add the finely chopped garlic, the oregano, the parsley, sea salt and black pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
3
The carpaccio: wash the fennel bulbs well and remove the tougher outer layers. With a mandolin or a very sharp knife, slice them into translucent, paper-thin slices. Segment the pink grapefruit, removing the white pith. Mix the two in a bowl with a thread of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
4
High-temperature searing: heat a griddle or heavy-based pan over high heat. Brush the swordfish medallions with a thread of olive oil on both sides. When the pan is smoking, put the fish in.
5
The right doneness: cook the medallions for exactly 3 minutes on the first side, without moving them so an immaculate golden crust forms. Turn them carefully and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more on the other side, seasoning at that point. The centre should stay juicy and only just pink; overdo it and it turns dry.
6
Plating: lay a base of the crisp fennel and grapefruit carpaccio to one side of the plate. Set the hot swordfish medallion beside it and, immediately, spoon the herb salsa virgen generously over the fish so the flesh absorbs the aromatic juices while it rests. Serve at once.