Sicilian-Style Swordfish Recipe

By
Ed Levine
Ed Levine
Ed Levine
Founder

Ed Levine founded Serious Eats in 2006. He has also written seven books and in 2016 he was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America.

Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated August 09, 2018

I made this swordfish recipe from The Young Man and the Sea last weekend for my wife and some friends, and I was declared a culinary hero—for one evening at least. I'm posting this here this morning so you still have time to follow the recipe this weekend.

The breadcrumbs keep the swordfish moist. The keys to success with this incredibly easy dish are toasting but not burning the breadcrumbs and keeping a close eye on the fish while it's on the grill. The breadcrumbs will burn if you're not careful.

One more thing. Don't tell Dave, but I used store-bought Italian-style breadcrumbs, and the recipe still turned out great. If you use store-bought breadcrumbs, just make sure you add the lemon zest, the chopped fresh parsley, and the garlic (from the Italian-Style Breadcrumb recipe that follows) when you toast them.

Sicilian-Style Swordfish

Recipe Details

Sicilian-Style Swordfish Recipe

Prep 25 mins
Cook 35 mins
Total 60 mins

Ingredients

  • Four six-ounce swordfish steaks, about 1 3/4 inches thick
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups Italian-Style Bread Crumbs (recipe follows)
  • 2 lemons, cut into wedges
  • 1 loaf Italian bread
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon finely diced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Prepare a charcoal fire, and heat the grate of the grill over it.

  2. Dry the swordfish steaks with paper towels. Brush them on both sides with extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then dredge in the bread crumbs.

  3. Place the fish over the medium-hot part of the fire and grill until the bread crumbs turn golden, no less than 5 minutes per side; if they begin to toast too quickly, move the fish to a cooler part of the grill. The cooked swordfish should be golden brown and the flesh should begin to flake when you press it with your finger.

  4. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon.

  5. Italian-Style Bread Crumbs

  6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

  7. Tear the loaf of bread into chunks, say, 2 inches long. Place them on a baking sheet. Bake until the bread is dry and crunchy, about 15 minutes. Put the chunks in a food processor and pulse to a fine crumb. Set aside.

  8. This is where you could start with the store-bought Italian bread crumbs.

  9. Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a small saute pan. Add the garlic and stir until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. The bread crumbs can be stored in a covered container until ready to use.

More Serious Eats Recipes