Swordfish Piccata

1/6 cup of wine? Seriously? Who has a measuring cup with 1/6 marked? I've worked it out, and that comes to 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of white wine. Couldn't we just go with 3 tbsp and call it a day?

What other fish can I use beside swordfish?

My husband said this is wonderful. He saw the recipe, sent it to me, and suggested it for dinner, then raved about it. I'm keeping him. And keeping the recipe, too.

Wondra, by the way, is superfine flour, also called instant flour.

I really like using any firm white fish - sole, tilapia, snapper.
And you could get away with waaay less butter (I actually just add a pat of it at the end, or sometimes none at all - the sauce is still delicious).

1.5 pounds of fish should serve at least 4 people, especially when served with a rich sauce like buerre blanc. If you would like the original recipe for this sauce, please refer to my book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In it may be found a tip to correct the sauce if it breaks: whisk in a tablespoon or two of hot water. Bon Appetit!

Excellent dish. The Wondra is a very good suggestion for getting that picatta softness without a floury taste. Two small suggestions: sear the thinly cut swordfish at high heat in the grapeseed oil without added butter (you don't want a browned butter flavor). Keep warm under foil while you make the sauce. Reheat fish in the buttery sauce at a very gentle heat for several minutes to finish cooking the fish and to allow its flavors to blend with the sauce.

We made this for two with 3/4 pound responsibly fished swordfish, with no fear of mercury as my husband and I are in our 50’s and we are probably doomed from all the fish we ate in our younger years. I used a glug of white wine to make the sauce, as I halved the sauce ingredients & figured a glug would suffice. Didn’t have Wondra flour, used all purpose and luckily have a gas cooktop. This fish was absolutely delicious!

You don't need so much butter. I use 3 T butter and double the capers, lemon juice, wine, shallots, etc. Delicious!

This technique works well with any fish sturdy enough to pan-fry (really delicate sole fillets, for example, can turn frustratingly into hash). You'll just need to adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness of your fillets and how cooked or rare you like your fish. Swordfish is one of the thickest fillets you'll find, so unless you have something similarly very thick, like sea bass, you'll want something closer to 2 minutes per side rather than 3-4.

"In a cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat grapeseed oil until just smoking over medium-high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of the butter until melted and bubbling, about 30 seconds." Whoa! Was is just me, or is this a dangerous thing to do. I heated up the oil as directed and when the butter hit it, the water in the butter pretty much exploded the oil all over everything. Not doing that again! Otherwise, great recipe.

As we're not all that fond of capers, I substitute artichoke hearts, and garlic for the shallots. Yum!

This is a great recipe and one that also works well with other proteins like chicken or pork. I especially appreciate the serving size : 1.5 pounds swordfish for two people. That is the reality in my house when swordfish this good is on the table. No four ounce portions here.

I used salmon. It turned out great.

Made this tonight. Used regular flour. Didn’t measure wine (or anything else for that matter) and used portions appropriate for the amount of fish. Totally delicious. On the table in less than 30 minutes. Served with cacio e pepe (spicy) and zucchini. Will add this to the repertoire

An elegant, delicious variation on this uses a Roman method of poaching. It's best done in one or two slabs thickly cut - two inches or so. Melt enough unsalted butter to come at least half way up fish. Season with s&p, dot thoroughly with salt-packed (and soaked) capers. Keeping heat low, spoon butter over fish continuously for 10-15 minutes. Fish should be soft but not flaky and not falling apart. Finish with lemon juice/parsley. Fresh tuna also works; so does EVOO instead of butter.