Swordfish with Sunflower, Currants and Capers

If you’re trying to eat a little healthier, this recipe adapted from Bonnie Stern’s The Best of HeartSmart Cooking
is for you.

Nine grams of fat per serving, 204 calories, 400 mg of potassium and 23 grams of protein mean you’ll feel satisfied without the heavy feeling or the bulge. The fish is coated in a crunchy, salty, sweet and sour crust that’s perfect on top of the tender fish.

My adaptations from Stern’s recipe were to use sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts and cornmeal instead of breadcrumbs, and I skipped the onion and garlic, thereby saving myself the trouble of cooking them first. I didn’t miss them and dinner was ready about 20 minutes sooner.

Swordfish with Sunflower, Currants and Capers

2 tbsp raw, shelled sunflower seeds
2 tbsp currants (use chopped dried cranberries in a pinch)
1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal (not cornflour)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped capers or caper berries
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil, divided
6 swordfish steaks, about 4 oz/125 g each and 3/4-inch thick

Toast sunflower seeds in a small, dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat until golden and aromatic, about 7 minutes, shaking pan often. Remove to a medium bowl.

Pour 1/2 cup water over currants in a small heat proof bowl. Leave for 5 minutes, then drain and add to sunflower seeds along with cornmeal, parsley and capers.

Wash and pat dry swordfish steaks. Coast with 1 1/2 tsp oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and, when hot, add remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil followed by as many swordfish fillets as will fit. Cook 2 minutes, then turn and cook 2 minutes longer. Remove to a baking sheet and cook remaining swordfish fillets in the same way. Add more oil to the pan if you need, but it should be fine (especially if you’re using cast-iron, the god of skillets).

Once all the fish are seared, place them on the baking tray and pat the cornmeal mixture thickly onto the top and sides of the fish to coat them, as though you’re burying your legs in sand at the beach. Place a rack high in the oven and preheat the broiler to high. Broil fish for 2 minutes, until the coating is crisp and golden. Don’t let it burn!