Episode 61 - Lemon Caper Sauce for Fish w-Swordfish

This is all about a quick and simple sauce that can be used for a variety of fish, but the selection of swordfish to pair it with today is for my friend Erin Collins who recently posted that she missed the simple joy of pesce spada as they do it in Italy.

Sometimes all you need to make a meal a little more special is to add a sauce. I know it can seem like one more thing you have to do and just a pain, but really it doesn’t have to be and it doesn’t need to dirty another pan or take a long time.

First you put a little salt and white pepper on the fish and sear it in a hot pan with a little olive oil. When it is done take it out of the pan and hold it in a warm oven while you make the quick sauce in the same pan. The basic sauce is as follows: reduce 1 cup of fish stock, 1 cup of white wine, and the juice of ½ lemon in the hot pan until it is about ¼ of the original volume. The pan should be as hot as you can without boiling over. The video shows exactly what not to do in this regard, as once again I was so busy talking that I failed to pay attention. Anyway, if it happens just soldier on.

While it is reducing add about a tablespoon of capers and some white pepper. Once fully reduced add a pat of butter, whisk it in, and check the salt. That’s all there is to it.

As I noted, this is the basic sauce. You can create lots of variations by
adding other ingredients such as tarragon, dill, kalamata olives, shallot, or whatever. This way you can use it as often as you want without somebody saying “What, that sauce again?”