My sweetheart Peggy and I were looking for a simple Winter time swordfish recipe that did not require cooking on a gas or charcoal grill. This recipe, from Food Network®, allowed the use of a very lightly oiled, very hot cast iron skillet, which worked just fine for us. The marinade looked like it would be pretty good and it turned out to be perfect.

I made minor changes to the recipe, like the use of a marinating bag instead of an open dish, and the use of some parsley as a garnish after grilling, plus the use of a small amount of olive oil in the skillet to keep the fish flesh from sticking to the hot skillet while cooking. The net result? Delicious!

The two things we liked best were: 1) This is a very easy recipe, and 2) The swordfish was nicely moist and tender inside after grilling as well as delicious.

I thought about but did not cook the marinade vegetables separately in the cast iron skillet and use them as a dressing or topping for the grilled swordfish instead of parsley. That is a recipe variation that I believe will significantly enhance the dish.

Note: The swordfish steaks should be between 1" and 1 1/2" thick.

We had buttered noodles and stewed tomatoes to accompany the swordfish. I suggest serving a nice light white wine, like Pinot Grigio, chilled, as a fine beverage for this meal.

Ingredients: (2 adult servings)

1 pound (or slightly more) of swordfish steaks (skin and dark flesh cut off and discarded)

1 lime, juiced (I used the juice from 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime)

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped fine (or pickled ginger slices often used with sushi or sashimi)

2 medium to large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 of a medium size onion, diced (I used a purple salad onion; you might also use shallots)

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (nice variation: 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. of toasted sesame seed oil)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (about 1/4 tsp. of each)

A few sprigs of fresh parsley to use as a garnish after grilling the swordfish (optional)

Directions:

Put your dinner plates and serving dishes into a 200 degrees F warming oven.

Combine the juice of the lime with the ginger, the garlic and the onion in a bowl. Then add the olive oil and season the marinade with the salt and pepper and mix well.

Put the raw swordfish steaks into a one quart Ziploc® freezer bag and pour the marinade over them, then seal the bag while eliminating excess air, and lay it flat on a counter. Turn the marinade bag over every five minutes for a total marinating time of 30 minutes.

Remove the swordfish pieces from the marinating bag without any vegetable pieces attached, and grill them in a lightly olive oiled, hot cast iron skillet, for about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Serve the swordfish on a pre-warmed plate with a few sprigs of parsley on top to enhance the appearance.