Grilled Swordfish with Mediterranean Hot-Pepper and Almond Sauce

From the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart

Serves

Introduction

This sauce is an adaptation of a Spanish sauce called romesco. It is wonderful on all manner of fish and seafood, and is great with lamb and chicken. It is also superb for dunking fresh vegetables. You may substitute other fish for the swordfish steaks. We particularly like tuna or shark. The amount of fish given is designed to serve eight in conjunction with Scallop, Sweet Onion, and Papaya Kebobs.

Ingredients

	1½	lb. swordfish steaks, about 1 inch thick
	~	Vegetable oil, for brushing
	~	Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Sauce

	½	cup sliced almonds
	2	cloves garlic, peeled
	1	cup mayonnaise
	1	Tbsp. sherry wine vinegar
	1	Tbsp. tomato paste
	¼	tsp. cayenne pepper
	1	tsp. mild paprika
	½	tsp. salt
	~	Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps

To make sauce, preheat oven to 325°F. Place sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until brown, about 10 minutes. Place garlic in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process to mince. Add almonds and process until minced. Add remaining ingredients to workbowl and process until blended. Alternatively, sauce can be made by mincing garlic and almonds with a chef’s knife and combining with other ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
Build a direct fire in a kettle-style charcoal grill (see About Grilling). Brush both sides of swordfish steaks with vegetable oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place steaks on a platter. When fire is ready, place fish on grill and cover with lid (vents open). Grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of a steak registers 120°F, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Steaks will be almost opaque throughout, with just small center portion that is translucent.
Divide fish steaks into 8 pieces and serve on warmed plates with a dollop of sauce.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart.