Pan-Seared Swordfish with Red Pepper Sauce

This recipe combines

Pan-Seared Swordfish

A hard-seared swordfish steak spooned with a roasted red pepper butter sauce — sweet, bright, and glossy against the meaty fish. This is the pan-seared swordfish and the sauce made as one dish: get the sauce most of the way there first, then sear the fish while the sauce keeps warm so both land on the plate together. Both parts also stand on their own if you'd rather make them separately.

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the swordfish

• 2 swordfish steaks, about 6–8 ounces each
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon butter, optional
• 1 lime wedge, optional

For the red pepper sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock or water
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
• 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
• Salt and pepper

The sauce reheats gently and finishes fast, so build it up to the blended stage first, then sear the swordfish while it holds warm below a boil. Swordfish is firm and steak-like, so it takes a strong sear — just don't push it past juicy, or it dries out like any lean fish.

Pan-Frying

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Browning Food and Building a Sauce→

Method

Start the sauce

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the shallot, and cook until soft but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the roasted red peppers and cook another minute, stirring to coat them in the shallot oil, then add the wine and simmer until reduced by about half. Add the stock or water and simmer until the peppers are very soft and the liquid is slightly syrupy, 5–7 minutes, then blend until smooth and return the sauce to the pan (strain it first for a finer sauce), keeping it warm but below a boil while you cook the fish.

Sear the swordfish

Pat the swordfish completely dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the neutral oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, add the swordfish, and cook undisturbed 3–4 minutes, until deeply browned on the first side. Flip once and cook another 2–4 minutes, depending on thickness, until just cooked through but still moist; if using butter, add it during the last minute and spoon it over the fish.

Finish and plate

Remove the swordfish and let it rest 1–2 minutes. Finish the sauce by whisking the cold butter into the warm pepper purée a cube at a time until glossy, then season with salt, pepper, and a splash of vinegar if it needs more brightness. Spoon the sauce onto the plates, set the swordfish on top, and finish with a squeeze of lime if desired. Serve immediately.