Reginette pasta with swordfish, eggplant and mint.
This pasta with swordfish recipe is a treat for the taste buds! It includes fried eggplant (aubergine) for authentic Sicilian taste, along with fresh mint and some grated lemon rind which really add a distinctive flavour to both the aubergine and the swordfish.
Sicilians and seafood!
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and since my hubby, Salvatore, is Sicilian, his stomach (and heart) is particularly partial to Sicilian dishes. It took me a number of years before I had the courage to cook Sicilian recipes for him, given that he is such a good cook himself.
Salvatore has a particular love for fish and seafood (as do most Sicilians) and his favourite seafood meals most often include pasta! So, a few days ago, I decided to spoil him with this recipe for one of his favourite pasta/seafood combinations; pasta with swordfish.
Swordfish in Sicilian cuisine.
Pasta with swordfish is a very popular and typical Sicilian dish. In fact, swordfish plays a big part in Sicilian seafood cuisine. The Sicilians grill it, bake it, put it in pies, make involtini or carpaccio with it and serve it with pasta in a number of different ways. The most traditional ways to eat swordfish with pasta are either with eggplant, like in this recipe, or with the typical Mediterranean ingredients of garlic, capers, olives, tomatoes and peperoncino, as in my post for strozzapreti with swordfish.
However, there are also a few other delicious swordfish and pasta recipes from Sicily and other Southern regions which include ingredients such as pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, zucchini or breadcrumbs. Some recipes are ‘al bianco’, meaning without tomatoes and some are traditional to the province they originate from such as ‘alla Messinese’ from Messina; made with tropea onions, celery and green olives, as well as capers and tomatoes.
I particularly like this pasta with swordfish recipe because it really is a treat for the taste buds! It includes fried aubergine, which gives it that authentic Sicilian taste, along with fresh mint and some grated lemon rind which really add a distinctive flavour to both the aubergine and the swordfish.
Different pasta choices for your swordfish.
You can make this recipe with both short and long pasta. In Sicily, you will often find it served with casarecce, busiate, strozzapreti, rigatoni and penne or with spaghetti. I chose to make it with reginette, also known as mafalde or mafaldine, a long ribbon pasta with ruffled sides which was named after the Italian princess Mafalda of Savoy. I love this pasta not only because of its unusual shape but also because of the story behind the name, despite the fact that the princess’ story was a tragic one!
In Italy and most of the Mediterranean, swordfish can be found in abundance during the summer months, so that’s when it is most often served at Italian tables. This pasta with swordfish can also be eaten cold or tepid, if you use short pasta. If you like pasta, aubergines/eggplants and swordfish, then you are bound to love this combination.
If you make this reginette pasta with swordfish recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Buon appetito!
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Reginette pasta with swordfish, eggplant and mint.
Ingredients
- 400 g Reginette/Mafaldine pasta (14oz)
- 1 eggplant (1 large or 2 small )
- 250-300 g swordfish steaks (10oz) fresh is better than frozen but you can use both
- 2 peeled garlic cloves
- 200 g datterini or ripe cherry tomatoes . (7oz) cut in half
- 1 handful of fresh mint leaves chopped (dried mint doesn’t work well)
- ½ glass white wine
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lemon for grating
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
- Wash the eggplant and cut it into cubes.
- Pour some olive oil into a large frying pan, about 1-2 cm, and when it’s hot, fry the eggplant cubes until golden brown.
- Remove the eggplant from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Discard the remaining oil and give the pan a quick wipe.
- Remove any skin and the centre bone (if it has one) from the swordfish with a sharp knife and cut into cubes, roughly the same size as the aubergine.
- Heat some more olive oil in the frying pan and add the peeled garlic cloves. When the garlic starts to colour, add the swordfish.
- Fry the fish for 2-3 minutes (turning the pieces over so they seal on both sides), then add the white wine. Turn up the heat and as soon as the alcohol has evaporated, remove the pan from the fire and sprinkle the fish with some chopped mint and grated lemon rind. Set it aside to marinate a little.
- In another small frying pan, add some more olive oil and fry the halved datterini or cherry tomatoes until they start to soften and the skins start to come loose.
- Add the tomatoes and eggplant to the pan with the fish and cook together for a further 3-4 minutes on a medium heat.
- Add some more chopped mint and a little more grated lemon rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the pasta al dente in the boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain quickly and mix together with the swordfish, tomatoes, eggplant cubes and the rest of the mint.
- Serve immediately if you are using long pasta, however this dish can also be eaten tepid or cold if made with short pasta.
Notes
This recipe can be made with other long pasta such as spaghetti or short pasta such as penne, rigatoni, busiate, casarecce, strozzapreti etc
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Arleen Neria says
Your presentation of this dish is beautiful. How do you get pasta to look so pretty in that circular way as it’s displayed in your photo? I made Reginette Ragu pasta before but my noodles didn’t look so pretty like that and like photo from my re pie which was displayed in same circular fashion as in your photo. I look forward to trying you recipe, as we love all those ingredients. Thank you.
Jacqui says
Hi Arleen, thanks for your comment. So my husband is the one who does those lovely pasta swirls. He uses kitchen tongs/pincer to turn a small amount of pasta (which has been mixed with the sauce) inside a ladle and then carefully tranfers it to the plate. I’m sure you’ll love this reginette with swordfish. It’s one of our favourite fish pasta recipes!
ELLYN M DAY says
Can I substitute a different fish for this recipe?
Jacqui says
Hi Ellyn, thanks for your comment. Since swordfish is what we call a steak fish (served in thickish practically bonelesd slices) the best substitutes are other similar fish. The best would be fresh tuna, but be careful not to overcook it. Alternatively, you could use grouper or maybe even mahi mahi. I wouldn’t use salmon as the taste is completely different or any oily fish like kingfish.
Italian Recipe Book says
This pasta is AH-mazing!! I can’t stop making it!! Thanks Jacqui for the recipe ❤❤❤
Jacqui says
I’m so happy you like this recipe! I love it too and make it quite often in summer!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
This swordfish pasta dish looks excellent! I don’t need a choice of pasta for your dish! I will make this dish exactly as written. Yum!
Jacqui says
Thank you so much Elaine! I’m sure you’ll love this recipe! Buon appetito!
Linda says
This looks amazing. With summer veggies i.e. eggplant and tomatoes in season, I bet this dish is a winner. I haven’t had a chance to explore food from that region of Italy – now I know I will. 🙂
Jacqui says
Sicilian food is so good Linda, lots of fresh seafood and Mediterranean veggies! Def worth exploring!
Claudia Lamascolo says
my husband is all sicilian, he will love this and I am going to surprise him with this dish thanks for posting it
Jacqui says
I’m sure your hubby will love this Claudia! It’s so full of Sicilian summer flavours!
Jessica Formicola says
This is my kind of pasta! What a wonderful combination of ingredients!
Jacqui says
So happy you like this recipe Jessica! I agree the combination of ingredients is wonderful!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
This recipe looks so delicious. I love swordfish but have never tried it with pasta. Now I can’t wait to make this!
Jacqui says
Thank you Shadi! Swordfish is delicious with pasta. I’m sure once you try it, you’ll agree wholeheartedly!