Three Delicious Ways to Prepare Fresh Swordfish Steaks

If you’re looking for a healthy, delicious protein to serve your family, you can’t do much better than fresh swordfish steaks. With no carbs at all and a whopping 43 g of protein in a 6 oz. serving, it’s ideal for anyone following a high-protein, low-carb diet. The bulk of the calories in fresh swordfish steaks derives from fat, but most of the fat is of the healthy omega-3 and unsaturated variety. Most of the remaining calories come from protein, including essential amino acids that are difficult to get elsewhere. The essential amino and fatty acids in swordfish can help reduce inflammation and lower your risk of heart disease, arthritis and some cancers. Omega-3 fatty acids are also essential to nerve health and vision. Add in selenium, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium, and you’ve got a chemical composition that’s great for your health.

Fresh swordfish steaks are a strongly flavored fish with firm flesh. There’s nothing delicate about swordfish, neither in flavor nor in texture, making them the perfect foil for other strong flavors. You can pair it with sauces and rubs that you’d never use with the sweet, delicate meat of Dungeness crab or diver scallops. Swordfish from the seafood market is delicious in any recipe you’d use with fresh albacore tuna or fresh salmon, or you can try some of these delicious ways to prepare swordfish at home.

Orange Ginger Grilled Swordfish

Marinate swordfish steaks with fresh orange juice, garlic, ginger, rosemary and black pepper in the refrigerator for about three hours. Remove the fish and discard the marinade. Brush a grill lightly with olive oil and grill the swordfish over hot coals for about 4 minutes on each side.

Poached Swordfish Steaks with Orange Ginger Sauce

Marinate the swordfish as above, but instead of discarding the marinade, add about half as much water to it. Bring the diluted marinade to a simmer in a skillet. Add the swordfish steaks to simmering liquid and poach them for six to eight minutes. Serve the swordfish on a bed of rice or couscous and spoon the sauce over it.

Moroccan Spice Rubbed Swordfish Steaks

Combine a tablespoon each of coriander, cumin, chopped chile and brown sugar. Add a teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground fennel seed and ground black pepper. Brush swordfish with olive oil and coat with spice rub, rubbing it gently into the flesh. Set aside in a covered dish in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Heat a cast iron pan under the broiler for at least 15 minutes. Arrange the swordfish steaks in the hot pan and place them under the broiler for 7 minutes on one side. Turn and broil for 4 to 5 minutes on the other side. Serve with a light couscous salad and fresh ambrosia of oranges, mint and honey.

One note about buying swordfish steaks and other seafood. Seafood is always at its most delicious when it’s fresh. If you don’t live close to a seafood market where you can buy swordfish fresh, you can look for an online seafood market where you can buy swordfish steaks and have them delivered to directly to your door.