Swordfish Provençal
Salade Niçoise Gets Gussied up for Guests and Goes Sustainable
Oct 30, 2007 Jacqueline Church
Swordfish Provençal
Swordfish is often the non-fish eater's fish. It's steak-like texture and mild flavor make it a safe and familiar choice for diners branching out from steak. Many mid-westerners not accustomed to seafood will admit swordfish is the only fish they eat. Too often, this lean, meaty fish is overcooked, leaving it dry. This detracts from its appeal tremendously for those who grew up on moist and sometimes strong-flavored fish.
A Beautfiul Place, a Beautiful Dish, a Beautiful Fish.
The Place. Nice ("Neese") lies on the Mediterranean Sea and shares much of its culinary heritage with perhaps more well known neighbor, Italy. Its warm coastal climate produces wonderful lavender and other herbs. Seafood is a core element of the diet and produce grows easily; olives, capers, tomatoes, beans.
The Dish. A Salade Composée ("compo-zay") is simply a salad which is composed rather than tossed or mixed.
The Fish. Swordfish is a "best choice" according to sustainable seafood resources. Choose swordfish that is from Canada and harpoon or hand-line caught.
Herbes de Provençe
Rosemary, Basil, Thyme,Marjoram, Bay Leaf, Lavender. Some say lavender was added opportunistically rather than culinarily, since it grows so profusely throughout the countryside in Provençe. Its evocative powers with tourists was, shall we say, of benefit for the Provençal economy.
Herbes de Provençe is a blend of these herbs and like curry, or garam masala, many cooks alter the basic formula to suit their palate. Herbs such as lavender you might find at your local market can be ground together in a coffee grinder.
Provençal Swordfish.
Sustainability Tip: Buy swordfish from Canada that is harpoon or hand-line caught. 80% of the worldwide harvest is caught by long-line method that entangles and kills hundreds of thousands of endangered sea turtles each year.
- Rinse and pat dry one large swordfish steak. Remove skin and cube swordfish.
- In a non-reactive container, combine swordfish cubes with Herbes de Provençe to coat.
- Add best quality olive oil, a couple of crushed garlic cloves. If you use Olive Oils with citrus (such as Pasolivo Tangerine) add it just before cooking to ensure the acid did not begin to cook the fish while it marinated in the herbs. Marinate about 2 hours.
- Add a bit of citrus, and perhaps more oil, to fish before baking. Do not overcook!
For tips and easy How-To instructions on the famous Salade Composée of Nice, go here. Replace the ubiquitous tuna with the Provençal Swordfish to create a truly elegant dinner salad.
Pan Bagnat - from Nice, France, a sandwich made with the leftovers (if any) of Salade Niçoise.
Terrific Resource on Chefs
The NYT online has a whole section devoted to chefs that will pull up a bio, their books, recent interviews (including those conducted elsewhere) and video clips, recipes. It is a virtual chef-marketplace. Go to the Dining page and in the upper right hand corner, click here. A drop-down menu pulls a list of culinary stars with pretty substantial space devoted to each one.
For another typical dish in the Provençe style using: Anchoyade.
South of France
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lavender
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Swordfish Nicoise
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