Strozzapreti with swordfish

Strozzapreti with Swordfish.

Sicilian Strozzapreti with Swordfish.

Swordfish is a very popular steak fish loved by children and adults alike. As a kid, I remember eating it a lot when on holiday in Spain, it wasn’t so available in UK supermarkets then. I’m talking about a fair number of years ago now, of course, which I guess is a way of saying I’m no spring chicken!

Today, you can find it in supermarkets or fishmongers everywhere, but it’s most often served as a main course either fried, grilled or oven baked. However, swordfish is a fabulous fish for pasta recipes. I only started eating it with pasta after moving to Italy. In fact, since moving here I’ve developed a passion for almost any kind of seafood pasta! Luckily for me, my hubby is Sicilian and he loves to cook and eat seafood pasta dishes. He’s introduced me to so many wonderful dishes at home in our kitchen and whilst travelling around Italy, most especially in Sicily where seafood is king of the kitchen and pasta its queen!

Seafood in Sicily.

I’ll never forget our first trip to Sicily for Valentine’s 2004 when we went to eat at a trattoria in the small harbour of Acitrezza . The restaurant had a wonderful display of seafood, most of which I couldn’t put names too. It was my first time eating things like sea dates, sea urchins, venus clams, mantis shrimps, razor clams, bottarga and more. And my first time eating pasta with some of these. Since that day, I’ve been hooked on the Sicilian seafood, on pasta with sea food and on my hubby too! (We weren’t married then.) The way to this woman’s heart was obviously through her stomach!

The Pasta

Enough reminiscing! Now for the subject of today’s post, strozzapreti with swordfish! As mentioned in my previous post about strozzapreti this pasta is an elongated type of cavatelli most often handmade. But we can also buy it dried. The name ‘strozzapreti’ means priest strangler or choker. You can read how this pasta got its name on my strozzapreti post.

Strozzapreti pasta is very often eaten with heavier meat sauces, especially away from coastal areas. However, it’s also a popular pasta partner for richer seafood sauces. There are a number of Southern Italian recipes for pasta with swordfish. In Sicily, they also make it with aubergine and mint . However, normally the main ingredients are those typical of central and southern Italy; tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic, parsley and a little peperoncino for those who like the dish to have a bit of a kick!

This strozzapreti with swordfish recipe can also be made with other short pasta such as casarecce, rigatoni or penne. Do try it. I’m sure you’ll love the combination and be coming back for more time and again!

Buon Appetito!

(See the recipe on the next page)