Something's Fishy

I've been feeling guilty about not cooking much of anything since we got back from vacation. Swim team started up again, three nights a week and I am not organized enough to have dinner prepared in advance. Swim starts at 6....so eating before is a lousy idea unless you want to see dinner floating in the pool. The earliest we get home is 7:40 and then we have to eat dinner. It's not ideal. Swim nights are rough.

Today was one of the first afternoons where I did not have to run around, so I decided to make my husband a proper dinner. Being a Pescetarian, he gets shafted on those nights that I cook the meat recipes from Auntie's book. It was his turn to get something special.

Auntie has a recipe in Barefoot Contessa for Grilled Swordfish with Tomatoes and Capers. I decided when it came time to make this one, I would have to switch out the fish. G hates swordfish, but Ina gave her blessing to make changes...it said right there on the page of the cookbook that you could substitute any firm, white fish. Whew. Thanks, Auntie!

When I got to the market and checked out the fish department I saw that they had wild caught cod on sale, so I picked that up. I am not particularly talented with fish. I never seem to cook it the right way. I think I am so concerned with making sure it is cooked all the way through that it ends up falling apart.

The base of the recipe was simple enough. Chopped onion, chopped fennel, garlic, canned whole tomatoes, white wine, broth, capers. No problem, until I realized that I had no capers in the house. I substituted some green olives that I chopped up. I thought that was acceptable. They're both green and salty, right?

Basically, the onion and fennel are cooked for a while, and then tomatoes are added. They get squished up with a fork and cooked down. Add the liquids and seasonings. That's it.

Auntie wants a nice piece of grilled swordfish on top of the tomatoes. Well, I knew I couldn't grill the cod. I probably should have baked the cod. But, I put the cod in the saute pan and proceeded to murder it. Seriously. It was unrecognizable as fish when I got done with it.

Don't believe me? Here you go:

Fish flakes.

What a mess.

But let me tell you....the flavor was fantastic. I was actually jealous that G got to eat the whole thing and I was stuck with chicken. It was delicious. Ugly, but delicious. I would suggest you try it, and use either a heartier white fish, or use cod and just be a better cook than I am. Because clearly, I suck at cooking fish.

Here's the recipe:
Swordfish with Tomatoes and Capers