Swordfish Piccata Recipe (2024)

1/6 cup of wine? Seriously? Who has a measuring cup with 1/6 marked? I've worked it out, and that comes to 2 tbsp + 2 tsp of white wine. Couldn't we just go with 3 tbsp and call it a day?

What other fish can I use beside swordfish?

I really like using any firm white fish - sole, tilapia, snapper.
And you could get away with waaay less butter (I actually just add a pat of it at the end, or sometimes none at all - the sauce is still delicious).

1.5 pounds of fish should serve at least 4 people, especially when served with a rich sauce like buerre blanc. If you would like the original recipe for this sauce, please refer to my book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In it may be found a tip to correct the sauce if it breaks: whisk in a tablespoon or two of hot water. Bon Appetit!

Excellent dish. The Wondra is a very good suggestion for getting that picatta softness without a floury taste. Two small suggestions: sear the thinly cut swordfish at high heat in the grapeseed oil without added butter (you don't want a browned butter flavor). Keep warm under foil while you make the sauce. Reheat fish in the buttery sauce at a very gentle heat for several minutes to finish cooking the fish and to allow its flavors to blend with the sauce.

We made this for two with 3/4 pound responsibly fished swordfish, with no fear of mercury as my husband and I are in our 50’s and we are probably doomed from all the fish we ate in our younger years. I used a glug of white wine to make the sauce, as I halved the sauce ingredients & figured a glug would suffice.Didn’t have Wondra flour, used all purpose and luckily have a gas cooktop.This fish was absolutely delicious!

You don't need so much butter. I use 3 T butter and double the capers, lemon juice, wine, shallots, etc. Delicious!

This technique works well with any fish sturdy enough to pan-fry (really delicate sole fillets, for example, can turn frustratingly into hash). You'll just need to adjust the cooking time depending on the thickness of your fillets and how cooked or rare you like your fish. Swordfish is one of the thickest fillets you'll find, so unless you have something similarly very thick, like sea bass, you'll want something closer to 2 minutes per side rather than 3-4.

"In a cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat grapeseed oil until just smoking over medium-high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of the butter until melted and bubbling, about 30 seconds."Whoa! Was is just me, or is this a dangerous thing to do. I heated up the oil as directed and when the butter hit it, the water in the butter pretty much exploded the oil all over everything. Not doing that again! Otherwise, great recipe.

As we're not all that fond of capers, I substitute artichoke hearts, and garlic for the shallots. Yum!

This is a great recipe and one that also works well with other proteins like chicken or pork. I especially appreciate the serving size : 1.5 pounds swordfish for two people. That is the reality in my house when swordfish this good is on the table. No four ounce portions here.

I used salmon. It turned out great.

Made this tonight. Used regular flour. Didn’t measure wine (or anything else for that matter) and used portions appropriate for the amount of fish. Totally delicious. On the table in less than 30 minutes. Served with cacio e pepe (spicy) and zucchini. Will add this to the repertoire

An elegant, delicious variation on this uses a Roman method of poaching. It's best done in one or two slabs thickly cut - two inches or so. Melt enough unsalted butter to come at least half way up fish. Season with s&p, dot thoroughly with salt-packed (and soaked) capers. Keeping heat low, spoon butter over fish continuously for 10-15 minutes. Fish should be soft but not flaky and not falling apart. Finish with lemon juice/parsley. Fresh tuna also works; so does EVOO instead of butter.

I cooked this as written except increasing capers because we love them. We made a bed of angel hair pasta and spinach. It was excellent and our go to recipe next time we run into an excellent piece of swordfish as we did today.

I never liked swordfish until this recipe! I cooked it for the first time in 25 years and was delighted with how delicious it was. I can’t eat butter so used plant butter and otherwise followed the recipe.

Last night I made this with no flour, 2x lemon juice, 1/4 C white wine. the sauce still was silky and beautiful. Served it with rice and green beans almandine. It was lovely. Definately going to try this with other proteins too.

Delicious!! Eliminated 6T butter

Forget the lemon cheecks. As a major flavor improvement, do the same as in the Chicken Picatta by Ali Slagle on his site, using lemon two ways, calling for lemon slices to be caramelized (to soften their tang) and for a hit of fresh juice at the end (to brighten the whole dish).So slice half the lemon very thinly and remove any seeds. Add the lemon slices with the shallot to the pan and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Superb!

Works with fresh tuna!

I haven’t eaten swordfish in at least 25 years, but being Alpha Gal positive has greatly limited my diet. The swordfish looked good and I needed something different. This recipe is amazing! I had to use plant butter ( Country Crock) and, for once, did not miss the real butter taste. It will be served frequently and even for company.

I ate a haddock piccata at Cafe Prego in Ogunquit, served over tagliatelle and garnished with parmesan. It was divine. I came here looking for a recipe to help me recreate that at home with halibut. Thanks!

Very nice. Cut in half. Only finished with 1 tablespoon of butter for flavor. Used broth with a splash of wine vinegar to deglaze as we can't use wine in our house.

Got some really fresh swordfish. Used slightly less butter, but otherwise made as written. Perfect. Will definitely make again.

My new favorite way to enjoy swordfish!

Can a gluten free flour be substituted. Got the celiac thing and LOVE piccatta. Could use corn starch but it has to be dissolved in a liquid first.

Tasty and both my husband and I enjoyed it. Easy to make and I served it with Linguine with Lemon Sauce, to complement each dish. Unfortunately, I didn't have capers but am also not supposed to have "vegetables" (doing the soft-food days of "The Prep" ;-) so it was ok. But definitely missed that lovely note.

I love swordfish, so will probably make this. Now that the recipe is several years old, are there suggested changes other than the amount of fish for two people? Is Wondra needed or all purpose flour?

Was very interested until I saw that each service has nearly five tablespoons of butter. Can I substitute olive oil for at least half of that?