SWORDFISH ROLLS

(Involtini di Pescespada)

Serves 6

1.25 kg/2½ lb swordfish

1 large red onion

12-15 bay leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

125 g/4 oz dried breadcrumbs

FILLING I

Bunch parsley, leaves only

5 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons currants soaked in hot water for 5 minutes

3 tablespoons pine nuts

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Chop the parsley and garlic together until very fine. Add the currants and pine nuts; chop roughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the olive oil, mixing thoroughly.

FILLING II

65 g/2½ oz pitted green olives

125 g/4 oz capers

Small bunch parsley, leaves only

50 g/2 oz dried breadcrumbs

50 g/2 oz grated caciocavallo, parmesan, or pecorino cheese

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Chop the olives, capers, and parsley together until quite fine. Stir in the breadcrumbs and the cheese, moisten with the oil, and blend thoroughly.

If your fishmonger is co-operative, have him bone and skin a 1.25 kg/2½ lb round swordfish steak, cut it into quarters, and slice each quarter across into 6 very thin slices. What you are aiming for is 24 slices that are roughly 7.5 × 10 cm/3 × 4 inches and less than 3 mm/⅛ inch thick. But, given the price of swordfish, it is wise to tolerate considerable irregularity rather than to trim lavishly—it won’t show in the end anyway!

Peel the onion, cut it into quarters or sixths, depending on its size, and then unlayer these wedges so that you have pieces of onion that are wide enough to thread on a skewer.

Place a teaspoon of the filling of your choice on one end of each slice of fish, roll it up as neatly as possible, and spear it on a skewer onto which you have already threaded a piece of onion. Follow with a bay leaf, then another roll of fish, then a slice of onion, and so on, until you have 6 skewers, each with 4 rolls of fish interspersed with onion slices and bay leaves. It is a good idea to run a second skewer through, parallel to the first and about 2.5 cm/1 inch distant, so that the fish rolls don’t spin about and break as you turn them over the grill. Italian markets sell 15 cm/6 inch disposable wooden skewers that are ideal for the purpose and more attractive than most metal skewers.

When all 6 servings are ready, moisten them with oil and then dip them in the breadcrumbs (they should be just lightly coated). Grill them gently, either over the coals or under the grill, for about 8 to 10 minutes. They can also be baked.

Swordfish also provides an excellent basis for a pasta sauce. The traditional version is simply diced swordfish simmered in tomato sauce, but Anna Pomar gives a modern elaboration that is so good I am including it here, if only as an example of how Sicilian cooking is evolving with the introduction of new ingredients (in this case mozzarella) from other regions of Italy.