Around My French Table (58 page)

W
HEN I FIRST HEARD THE WORD
ESPADON
("
es
-pa-
dahn
"), I thought it was the title for a medieval cavalier, and I guess I wasn't so far off, since the rightful owner of the name, the swordfish, might easily be considered a swashbuckler of sorts. For sure, it grabs pride of place (along with tuna) in the Paris fishmongers' stalls: it's a big fish and is often settled on the highest mound of ice the vendor has. The swordfish sold in France is normally fished from the Mediterranean Sea, and its color is often grayer than that of our American catch. And where we would normally buy inch-thick steaks of the fish to grill, the French are more likely to ask for a slice maybe half that thickness that can be quickly cooked in a skillet. (If you'd like to go American and grill a thicker piece of fish, see Bonne Idée.)

Whether your fish comes from the North Atlantic or the warm Mediterranean, the marinade will give it the fragrance and flavor of the Riviera. A combination of rosemary, lemons, capers, chiles, and olive oil, it does double duty: it moistens and boldly flavors the swordfish, then it turns into a sauce, so that every last drop of goodness is captured.

While the fish and its salty-tangy sauce are good with almost any kind of side dish, from simply grilled vegetables to mashed potatoes, no matter what you choose as a go-along, I hope you'll also make the herb salad—it's the perfect finish for the fish. You can mix the herbs while the fish is marinating, but wait until the last minute to toss the delicate leaves with the oil and lemon juice, so you preserve their flavor and frilliness.

BE PREPARED:
The fish needs to marinate for an hour.

TO MARINATE THE SWORDFISH:
Whisk together all the ingredients except 2 teaspoons of the rosemary and the swordfish in a nonreactive 9-x-13-inch baking pan (I use a Pyrex roaster), or put them in a jumbo zipper-lock plastic bag and shake them around. Put the swordfish in the pan or bag and turn it so that it's well coated with the marinade. Cover with plastic or seal the bag and marinate the fish, turning it a couple of times, for 1 hour at room temperature.
(The fish can marinate for up to 4 hours in the refrigerator; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

TO MAKE THE SALAD:
Toss all the herbs together in a bowl. Hold off on dressing the salad.

TO COOK THE SWORDFISH:
Remove the fish from the marinade and scrape any ingredients that have stuck to the fish back into the marinade; reserve the marinade. Using paper towels, lightly pat the fish dry.

In a large skillet (nonstick is good), warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. When it's hot, slip in the swordfish. (If your skillet isn't large enough to hold the 4 pieces, cook the fish in 2 batches, adding more oil to the pan as needed.) Cook for 3 minutes, then carefully turn the fish over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the other side. You want the fish to be opaque in the center—swordfish is not one of those fish best served rare. Make a small cut in the center of the fish to check for doneness; depending on the thickness of your fish, you may need to cook it a little longer. Transfer the fish to a platter and cover loosely.

Heat the reserved marinade in a microwave oven or in a small saucepan over medium heat until it's hot but not boiling. Drizzle it over the swordfish and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons minced rosemary.

Toss the herb salad with the lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and top each piece of fish with a little mound of salad.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

SERVING
The fish goes well with a side of Pancetta Green Beans (
[>]
) or the more substantial Lemon-Barley Pilaf (
[>]
), but if I'm serving it during the summer, my favorite accompaniment is a dish from the fish's neighborhood, Tomatoes Provençal (
[>]
). And, for summer, both the swordfish and the tomatoes are excellent at room temperature, making them perfect for outdoor eating.

STORING
You can marinate the fish up to 4 hours in advance (keep it in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before cooking it), and you can toss the herbs together a few hours in advance as well (chill them in a plastic bag). If you'd like, you can even sauté the fish ahead of time and serve it at room temperature. If you've got fish left over, cover it well, store it in the fridge, and use it to make a salad the next day. It's particularly good with arugula, red onions, and tomatoes; dress the salad with any leftover marinade, or lemon juice and olive oil, or, best choice, tapenade (homemade,
[>]
, or store-bought) thinned with some olive oil. What could be more Mediterranean?

BONNE IDÉE
Grilled Swordfish.
Heat your barbecue to high and brush the rack with oil. Scrape the marinade from the fish, lightly pat it dry, and grill for 2 minutes on one side, then carefully turn it over to cook for another 2 minutes on the other. Nick the fish so that you can check that it's opaque at the center; if it's not, cook for another minute or so until done. If you're using thicker (about 1 inch) American-style steaks, you'll probably need to grill them for 4 to 5 minutes on each side—check at the 4-minute mark. Serve with the warmed marinade and salad.

T
HE FIRST TIME I TASTED SALMON
with piquant black olive tapenade, I had one of those aha moments: they're the proverbial match made in heaven. For this recipe, the tapenade is used as both a stuffing—it goes into a pocket cut into the salmon—and a little sauce. If you'd like, serve the salmon with a tomato and red pepper salsa (
[>]
) or even a mango mix (see the chatini on
[>]
), but it's delicious and quite elegant on its own.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Pull out an ovenproof skillet that can hold the 4 salmon fillets, or choose a skillet to use stovetop and a baking pan for the oven.

In a small bowl, stir together the tapenade, 2 tablespoons of the herbs, and half the lemon zest and juice. Season with pepper—you probably won't need salt, since the tapenade is salty. Spoon out a generous tablespoon of the tapenade and keep it aside to make the sauce. Put the remaining tapenade into a small zipper-lock plastic bag, seal the bag, and snip off a small corner.
(The tapenade mixture can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)

You need to cut 2 pockets to fill with tapenade in each salmon fillet, and the pockets should run parallel to the skin. The easiest way to do this is to put the fillets on a cutting board, skin side down, and, using a paring knife or a long thin knife, slice through the fish to create 2 slits, each about 1 inch long, on either side of the center of the fillet. Squeeze a little of the tapenade into each pocket, "massaging" the salmon if necessary so that the tapenade fills the pockets evenly but isn't squirting out the sides. Season the fillets lightly with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the skillet over high heat. When it's hot, slip the fish into the pan, top side down, and cook for 2 minutes, then turn the fillets over and cook for 2 more minutes—this will give the fish nice color. Slide the skillet into the oven, or transfer the fish to the baking pan, and roast the fillets for 6 minutes, at which point they should still be just the slightest bit jiggly in the center. Put the skillet or pan in a warm place, cover the fillets lightly with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, stir 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the reserved tapenade (it will look like a thin vinaigrette with speckles of olive). Season to taste with more lemon zest and juice, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons herbs, and finish with salt and pepper.

Serve the salmon with the sauce spooned over it.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

SERVING
This dish is really good over steamed spinach (
[>]
) or alongside green beans (
[>]
), which have an affinity for tapenade (think salade Niçoise).

STORING
While the fish should be served as soon as it's cooked, you can make the tapenade mixture 1 to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.

BONNE IDÉE
Salmon is such a team player that it can easily be paired with finely chopped or pureed sun-dried tomatoes pepped up with herbs and lemon juice—make the tomato sauce just as you would the tapenade sauce; or with a mix of roasted garlic and white bean puree—this is great with the tapenade sauce; or with a riff on the recipe's tapenade, with finely chopped preserved lemon peel (see Sources
[>]
) and a tiny bit of the lemon's liquid instead of the fresh zest and juice, and rosemary instead of basil or mint.

L
ENTILS ARE SO DARK AND EARTHY
that you might think they're only meant to go with meat, but it turns out they're a terrific mate for salmon, something bistro cooks figured out awhile ago. The combination of rich, slightly sweet pink salmon on top of the minerally lentils is not just satisfying, it's good-looking too. And it's easy to put together, since the lentils can be prepared ahead and the salmon needs less than a quarter of an hour of high-heat roasting. Like many simple dishes, this one takes to tweaking, even to deluxeing—I've seen it made grand with the addition of truffles, which are wonderful with both lentils and salmon. While you might not have a hunk of black truffle available to chop and add to the lentils or to shave over the salmon when it's hot from the oven, you can get a hint of the effect by finishing the dish with a few drops of very fine truffle oil. And when I say a few drops, I mean it: with truffle oil, quality is a must, and restraint an imperative.