Avocado

HOT Swordfish with COOL Coconut Avocado Cream Sauce

by:
July 13, 2010
4.5
4 Ratings
HOT Swordfish with COOL Coconut Avocado Cream Sauce
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This recipe emerged as I was trying to recapture a dish made by a friend that included Halibut, cocunut milk, and lime. I played around with adpting it to swordfish and creating a spcy marinade which is later turned into a sacue. I cooled it down by adding cream and avocado. I served the sauce lukewarm over slices of the tender fish which rest on a bed of crispy greens with riceon the side. - JoanG —JoanG

Test Kitchen Notes

What a surprisingly refreshing and delicious recipe! It’s not a fussy recipe, and easy to put together. I was curious, and even skeptical, as to how the basil steamed in the fish packets would taste with the Asian flavors, how the avocado in the warm sauce would be, and how the recipe would come together. It all worked together very well: the flavors are perfectly balanced and the sauce is a delightful combination of “hot” and “cool”. Instead of romaine or spinach, watercress might be nice. I’ll certainly be making it again, as I received only enthusiastic and positive responses to it, such as, “The sauce is wicked good!” - SallyCan —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 pounds swordfish, cut into four pieces
  • 1 fresh, whole jalapeño pepper(use half for less spicy or the entire pepper if you like it hot)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 2 limes, zested and juiced
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 avocado, in big slices or chunks
  • 1/2 cup cream or half and half
  • 4 larlge, whole basil leaves
  • 2 cups fresh greens such as romaine hearts or baby spinach, sliced in strips
Directions
  1. Place the coconut milk, jalapeño, cilantro, ginger, garlic, lime juice and zest, agave nectar, and olive oil in the blender.Pu Puree until smooth
  2. Place the swordfish in a shallow glass dish and pour the coconut mixture over them, Cover and refrigerate ofr 4 hours.
  3. Cut a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil for each piece of fish to enclose it completely when roasting.
  4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove fish pieces from marinade. Place each piece on a sheet of foil, Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with a basil leaf.
  5. Seal pouches and place on baking sheet in over. Bake at 450F for 8-10 minutes and let sit, still wrapped in foil, on a platter until ready to serve.
  6. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinade in a saucepan, add the cream or half and half, and the avocado. When warmed, turn off the stove and puree with an immersion mixer.
  7. To serve: divide the greens among four plates. Remove the fish from packets and slice in thin pieces. Put each set of slices on top of the greens. Drizzle the sauce over the fish and greens. Serve with rice and garnish with diced cucumber and extra sauce on the side.
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  • Catherine
    Catherine
  • lux113082
    lux113082
  • SallyCan
    SallyCan
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • Kayb
    Kayb
JoanG
I love food! I love to cook, eat, read about food, write about food, and enjoy meals with friends and family. I have been writing a food memoir for the past decade and am just about done! I epsecially love to create recipes using seasonal and local produce. I love to travel and wherever I go I shop at markets, cook, and try to take a cooking class.

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9 Reviews

Catherine
Catherine July 29, 2019
Super good, made this for company tonight to rave reviews and clean plates. I didn't believe the 10 minute cook time, but stick to it and allow resting time. It will be perfect, and the sauce... so yummy.
 
lux113082
lux113082 December 17, 2013
Thanks Trena. So glad you liked it!
 
maggiesara
maggiesara November 10, 2012
LOVE this sauce. Want to marry it and have its children. I didn't find the cooking method for the fish to work at all, though -- I wound up pulling out the grill pan, and cooking it about 4 minutes per side. Next time -- and there will absolutely be a next time -- I plan to skewer chunks of the fish with peppers and onions, and grill them, lay them on a bed of cooked spaghetti squash, and nap with the fabulous sauce.
 
lux113082
lux113082 November 10, 2012
Sorry the cooking method didn't work but glad you like the sauce, It was a serendipity creation!
 
SallyCan
SallyCan July 30, 2010
This was such a delightful recipe to test, and we enjoyed the leftover sauce tremendously~on roast beef sandwiches instead of mayo and thinned with some plain yogurt for a salad dressing.
Since we didn't cook as much fish, we had extra marinade, which we used to marinate a grilled pork tenderloin, which was fabulous. The flavors are reminiscent of a Thai green curry, but without the assertive character of the curry. Great recipe
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen July 16, 2010
Really interesting and original combinations of flavors and textures. Thanks.
 
JoanG
JoanG July 17, 2010
Thanks! It was really spciy so next time I may use 1/2 a jalapeno instead of a whole one!
 
Kayb
Kayb July 14, 2010
Yum! That sounds absolutely wonderful. Love adding the avocado to the sauce.
 
JoanG
JoanG July 14, 2010
Thanks Kayb. I was trying to cool off the spicy flavors of the fish!