Pesce Spada alla Ghiotta
A classic Messina dish of tender swordfish steaks simmered gently in a savoury tomato sauce with capers, olives and celery.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 420 kcal
Equipment
- •Wide heavy sauté pan with lid
- •Chef's knife
- •Cutting board
- •Fish slice
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- fat
- 24 g
- carbs
- 14 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 36 g
- calories
- 420 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the salted capers thoroughly in cold water to remove excess salt, then drain well.
- 2
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a wide heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat.
- 3
Add the sliced onion and chopped celery to the warm oil.
- 4
Cook gently for eight minutes until the vegetables soften and smell sweet without browning.
- 5
Stir in the rinsed capers, halved green olives, drained sultanas and pine nuts.
- 6
Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for two minutes until the raw alcohol evaporates.
- 7
Add the hand-crushed plum tomatoes and their juice, stirring to combine the sauce.
- 8
Cover and simmer over low heat for fifteen minutes until the sauce turns thick and glossy.
- 9
Nestle the swordfish steaks directly into the sauce in a single layer.
- 10
Spoon some sauce over each steak, cover, and simmer gently for eight minutes until just tender.
- 11
Remove from the heat, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and let stand for two minutes before serving.
Chef's tips
Swordfish dries out rapidly, so do not simmer it beyond eight to ten minutes. Salt-packed capers provide authentic flavour, but soaking them thoroughly prevents the braising liquid from becoming overly salty.
Ingredient substitutions
- swordfish → thick cod loins or monkfish fillets, adjusting cooking time accordingly
- green olives → black Gaeta or Nocellara del Belice olives
- pine nuts and sultanas → omitted entirely for a purely savoury sauce
Storage
Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a covered pan over low heat with a tablespoon of water until warm throughout.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Overcooking the swordfish, which makes the delicate fish dry, dense and fibrous.
- •Failing to rinse the capers, resulting in an unpleasantly salty sauce.
- •Leaving out the celery, which provides the distinctive aromatic base essential to Messina ghiotta.
Serving suggestions
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