Swordfish

On Friday night I had almost nothing in the refrigerator. I held out one more day and avoided the grocery store. But in spite of my self-imposed no grocery shopping embargo I had a really great dinner last night. I even used the pickled sushi ginger (but not the buttermilk).

God bless Ina Garten! I had a couple of Trader Joe's swordfish steaks in the freezer. I thawed them and made this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook. I used chopped sushi ginger instead of fresh ginger. It was fabulous and I'll bet it's a great marinade for chicken too.

Here's the recipe almost exactly as I made it--you know about the ginger and I only used 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard. I'm even posting her photo of the dish. Absolutely no one is better than Ina Garten.

Indonesian Grilled Swordfish

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup canola or peanut oil, plus extra for brushing the grill

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup minced or finely chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 (8-ounce, 1-inch-thick) swordfish steaks

Combine the soy sauce, canola oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, and mustard in a bowl. Pour half the sauce in a low flat dish that’s just large enough to hold the swordfish in one layer. Place the swordfish on top of the sauce and spread the remaining sauce on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Thirty minutes before you’re ready to serve, build a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill. When the coals are medium-hot, brush the cooking grate with oil to prevent the fish from sticking. Remove the fish from the marinade, allowing some of the ginger to cling to the fish, and discard the marinade. Sprinkle the fish generously on both sides with salt and place it over the coals. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, just until it’s no longer pink in the middle. Place on a platter, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot or warm.