I didn’t watch cartoons as a kid, for me Saturday mornings were reserved for watching Jacques Pépin cooking shows. He is the inspiration for this dish—simply seared swordfish and a sauce made with butter, a fragrant, Japanese citrus called yuzu, and green yuzu kosho paste, a savory, spicy paste of unripe, green yuzu peels and green chiles. Simple and absolutely delicious!

Swordfish with Pink Peppercorn-Yuzu Brown Butter Sauce

Category

Category name

Serves

2

Ingredients

  • 2 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks, cut ¾-inch thick, remove any skin
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon yuzu juice
  • ½ teaspoon pink peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • ¼ teaspoon green yuzu kosho paste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
  • Maldon sea salt, optional

Method

  1. Place swordfish steaks on a plate and season on both sides with salt and black pepper. Heat a large sauté pan on high heat and when hot, add the oil. Gently place swordfish steaks in the pan and cook on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through to medium doneness, an additional 30 seconds or so. Remove the fish to a plate.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium and, in the same pan, add the cold butter, swirling occasionally, until the milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the soy sauce, yuzu juice, pink peppercorns, lemon zest, yuzu kosho and the parsley and swirl for 10 seconds. Spoon the yuzu brown butter sauce over the swordfish fillets and sprinkle with sea salt.