June 12, 2012 Swordfish Steaks with Strawberry Salsa

Sweet, succulent strawberries, who doesn’t enjoy them in seasonal fare like shortcake, ice cream, jam and salsa. Strawberry salsa, you say? Well if mangoes, papayas and pineapples have all been popular fruits for this spicy treat, why not strawberries? After all, salsa means sauce in Spanish, though in North America we usually think of it as any variation of the spicy tomato based sauces of Mexico.
This very simple salsa appeared 15 years ago in Gourmet magazine. The original presentation in the article “Spotlight on the Strawberry” served the salsa in an avocado half with crispy tortilla strips. I thought I would serve it  with the swordfish steak we were having for dinner. The sweet and spicy flavors in the salsa paired nicely with the richness of the swordfish.
You can vary the type and amount of the pepper according to your tastes. I would consider making it a bit hotter if I were just serving it with chips. A little heat goes a long way as a topping for fish. The strawberries would be good in combination with any of the aforementioned salsa fruits. It would also be a good topping for grilled chicken or fish tacos. Enhance the sweetness of the salsa and serve with baked tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon sugar as a snack or dessert.

 Swordfish Steaks with Strawberry Salsa 

Serves two with extra salsa

Strawberry Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 fresh Serrano or jalapeno chili
• 1 cup of finely chopped strawberries
• 1/4 finely chopped white onion
• 2T finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2t fresh lime juice
• 1/4t salt
• 1/2t sugar (if desired, will depend on your berries)

Directions

1. Wearing rubber gloves, remove stems, seeds and ribs from chili and chop fine.
2. In a bowl stir together chili and remaining salsa ingredients. Salsa may be made several hours ahead and chilled, covered.

 Swordfish Steak

Ingredients

• 2- 6 oz swordfish steaks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Wondra flour
• 1T each olive oil and unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Measure steaks using the Canadian method to calculate total cooking time.
3. Season swordfish steaks with salt and pepper. Dust with Wondra flour.
4. Heat an oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat.
5. Melt butter and oil in a saute pan large enough to hold the fish without crowding and small enough to fit in your oven.
6. Brown swordfish for two minutes on each side.
7. Move saute pan to oven. Finish in oven, subtracting four minutes from your total cooking time. For example 1″ fish=10 minutes cooking time minus four minutes equals six minutes in the oven.
8. Using oven mitts, remove from pan from oven, transfer fish to serving plate with spatula. Top with salsa and serve immediately.