Swordfish Wine Pairing: Make it Broiled with Lemon-Butter Sauce
Ever wonder what wine to pair with swordfish? There are many to choose from, actually; it depends on how you want to cook this dish. In this pairing, I broiled swordfish steaks and served them with a delicious lemon-butter wine sauce...perfect with a crisp, acidic white wine.
Its no secret that I really, really, really like lemony dishes. (Here are two of my favorites: lemon chicken and easy peasy lemon spaghetti.) God help me if I run out of lemons in the house. They add so much character to the simplest of meals. Squeeze a lemon over anything and its instantly brighter. So guess what I did to this swordfish? Gave it some zip with a lemon-butter sauce.
The Pairing
The number one thing to consider when pairing lemony dishes with wine is: are there lemon flavors in the wine? If the answer to that question is "yes", you'll most likely have a great wine pairing. Of course this means that white wines totally reign over reds for this one. The ideal wine I want with this dish is a medium-bodied, refreshing white wine with high acidity and plenty of lemon and citrus flavors. I chose Principessa Gavi from Banfi to eat with this dish and it was perfect! Gavi is a DOCG in Piedmont (northwestern Italy) for white wines made from the cortese grape. Naturally, its got a dry, crisp, refreshing character with high acidity and plenty of those lemon flavors that I was looking for (and olive, which also went great with this dish).
However, if you don't find a Gavi, that's okay. This pairing is where you can have some fun, friends. Find a cool, weird varietal that you may have never heard of before. As long as its bright and acidic, it'll work.
Dani's Picks for Wines to Pair with Broiled Swordfish
- Gavi
- Verdicchio
- Picpoul (a lemony varietal from southern France)
- Pinot Grigio (make it from Italy)
- Sauvignon Blanc (but stay away from New Zealand or America which may overwhelm this dish)
- Chablis: always yummy
As you can see, I have a lot of suggestions and am barely scratching the surface. Have fun with this pairing, its an easy one! Just make sure not to buy a wine that is too weighty or aromatic. Stay away from: oaked Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Torrontes, and Viognier.
The Recipe
We call swordfish steaks "steaks" because its a pretty meaty fish. It can be made many different ways, but it was a great way to celebrate the weather getting warmer by broiling this one and lightening it up with a lemon butter sauce with dill. Leave the skin on the swordfish as it helps keep the fish moist (ew, I hate that word). Recipes adapted from finecooking.com and ehow.com.
Broiled Swordfish Steaks with Lemon-Butter Sauce
Author: Dani (CaretoPair.com)
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup dry white wine (use whatever you're pairing your dinner with)
- 1/4 Cup minced yellow onion
- 4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
- 2 tsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Swordfish steaks, about 1 lb total
- small amount of butter (about 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 garlic clove, minced very finely
Instructions
- First, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, add the onion and wine and simmer over medium-high heat until the wine has reduced to 1/3 of its size, stirring occasionally. (About 10 minutes)
- Remove the pan from the heat and add a few cubes of butter, whisking them into the wine until fully melted. Repeat with the rest of the butter cubes.
- Stir in the dill, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper if desired (I didn't).
- Next, heat the broiler to high and let warm up for about 5 minutes. Brush the swordfish steaks with a thin layer of room-temperature butter and season with salt, pepper, and minced garlic on both sides. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil (to encourage browning) and place under the broiler about 5 inches away from the heating element.
- Cook for about 5 minutes until the swordfish begins to brown. Remove from the broiler and flip the fish with a spatula. Place back under the broiler and continue to brown for an additional 5 minutes .Meanwhile, reheat the lemon-butter sauce if necessary.
- Serve the swordfish over rice and pour the lemon-butter sauce all over it. Sqeeze a lemon over everything for an extra boost of acidity.