Swordfish Escabeche
Submitted by cbredeme
Swordfish escabeche features golden-crusted swordfish bathed in a tangy red wine vinegar sauce spiced with toasted oregano, cumin, allspice, and cinnamon. Served at room temperature with sweet onion rings and red chilies.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
35 minREADY
2 hrsEscabeche is one of those ancient techniques that every great food culture figured out independently: sear something gorgeous, then drown it in a sharp, spiced vinegar sauce and let time do the rest.
This San Francisco masterchef version starts with swordfish steaks marinated in fresh lime juice, then sautéed to a light golden crust before getting doused in a sauce that’s practically a spice bazaar. Toasted oregano, cumin seeds, allspice, cinnamon, and clove are ground together with red wine vinegar into something deeply aromatic and bright.
Served at room temperature, topped with thin rings of sweet onion and fiery red chilies, this is the kind of dish that gets better as it sits.
Kitchen Tips
- Toast your oregano in a dry pan just until it starts to smoke lightly. Pull it off the heat immediately or it turns bitter fast.
- Grind the whole spices fresh rather than using pre-ground. The difference in fragrance is night and day.
- Let the finished dish sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. Escabeche rewards patience as the vinegar sauce mellows and the flavors meld together.
Ingredients
Directions
Toast oregano just until the odor of the oregano is noticeable, do not burn.
Oregano will begin to smoke lightly when ready.
Mince the garlic, and sauté it quickly in a very hot pan with as little olive oil as possible.
Toast it until it’s slightly browned.
Remove from heat and reserve.
Marinate the steaks in lime juice, water, and salt for 1 hour.
Sauce: In a grinder or mortar, put the toasted oregano, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, cumin seeds, whole clove, salt, coriander, cinnamon stick, fresh garlic clove, and sugar.
Grind thoroughly then add toasted garlic.
Put the ground mixture in a sauté pan and add ¾ of a cup of water, ½ cup of red wine vinegar, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Assembly: Meanwhile, remove the steaks from the marinade, take off their skins, cube, then pat dry.
Heat another sauté pan, then add olive oil.
Put the swordfish into the pan and sauté until it has a light, golden crust.
Reserve the swordfish on a serving dish.
Pour the oil from the pan and deglaze the pan with ¼ cup red wine vinegar.
Add herb and vinegar sauce to deglazed pan and bring to a boil.
Add a touch of water if sauce becomes too thick.
Spoon sauce over fish and garnish with sweet onions and red chilies.
Serve at room temperature.
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