I find that meaty swordfish has quite an affinity with orange. This recipe was inspired by duck à l’orange, so you can call it poisson à l’orange if you want to be fancy. Swordfish has a tendency to dry out if overcooked, so I prefer to buy sashimi-grade fish and keep it slightly rare in the centre; remember that it will continue to cook in the residual heat once removed from the pan, especially while staying warm in the oven. Serve swordfish in orange sauce with plenty of crusty bread and some braised cos lettuce if you like, to keep the French theme going (see video below), and a glass or two of delicious Loire muscadet, like the Gabbro from innovative young winemaker Jérôme Bretaudeau.

Serves 2

Ingredients
  • 2 x 200g sashimi-grade swordfish steaks
  • 1 large orange (or 1 ½ smaller oranges)
  • Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup dry white wine or vermouth
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons agrodolce red wine vinegar
  • 40g cold butter, diced
  • Splash Cointreau or brandy (optional)
  • Crusty bread, for serving
Method
  1. Remove fish from fridge 30–60 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
  2. Preheat oven to 100°C.
  3. Zest orange then segment it (see video below and details here), squeezing the membrane well to extract as much juice as possible. You’ll need about ¼ cup of juice, so juice another half orange if necessary.
  4. Pat fish dry with paper towel then salt generously.
  5. Heat a frying pan over medium–high heat.
  6. Add half the butter and, when melted, add the fish.
  7. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until well coloured, then turn over and cook the other side for just a minute (or until cooked to your liking).
  8. Remove to a serving platter and place in the oven to keep warm.
  9. Add wine to the pan, increase heat and bring to the boil, stirring to remove any bits stuck to the base of the pan.
  10. When wine has reduced by half, add orange juice and zest, honey and vinegar and boil for a few minutes, until reduced by half.
  11. Taste and add salt and pepper.
  12. Remove from heat, beat in cold butter then stir in orange segments (adding a splash of Cointreau or brandy if you like).
  13. Pour over the fish and serve with crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce.

Share page on:

Braised Cos Lettuce

Join Me Soon

What Other Cooks Say

Melisa (Beacon Hill, NSW)
Melisa (Beacon Hill, NSW)
Read More
We made the pot-sticker dumplings and bang bang chicken from the Chinese class the other night. Once again both exceeded our expectations. My husband keeps saying it’s better than going out to restaurants as the recipes and quality are amazing.
Glennis (Caringbah South, NSW)
Glennis (Caringbah South, NSW)
Read More
The whole Be Inspired experience has helped me love cooking again. I was sick of cooking the same old things - meal time is a lot brighter thanks to you Roberta.
Pam (Cammeray, NSW)
Pam (Cammeray, NSW)
Read More
Your recipes are something I always feel confident offering guests and also reasonable in the time to prepare. We often try your recommended wines and suppliers and enjoy your travel tales too!
Jen (Tamarama, NSW)
Jen (Tamarama, NSW)
Read More
Thank you for stocking our pantry with such authentic Ingredients and quality produce. We really like the flexibility of cooking over a couple of days and changing the order we cook the dishes in when we want to. And I love listening to the themed playlist while cooking.
Katrina (Arncliffe, NSW)
Katrina (Arncliffe, NSW)
Read More
I am absolutely loving Be Inspired! There are ingredients I have never worked with before so having the confidence to try something new is so much fun! The recipes are just amazing and the notes on what can be prep’d beforehand are a great help too. Thank you so much.
Deb (Belconnen, ACT)
Deb (Belconnen, ACT)
Read More
Awesome fun traveling through Emilia-Romagna experiencing first hand some of the produce I've worked with over the last couple of years cooking with Roberta's classes – the family are reaping the benefits now.
Judith (Woronora, NSW)
Judith (Woronora, NSW)
Read More
Food, wine and travel! Three of my favourite things! Be Inspired with Roberta has been a wonderful experience and given me more confidence in the kitchen. I have learnt so much, cooked things I never would have attempted without Roberta’s excellent videos, and used ingredients I have never tried before.
Sandra (Garran, ACT)
Sandra (Garran, ACT)
Read More
I'm a competent cook whose learned so much from Roberta's online cooking classes. The recipes are yummy and Roberta’s video guidance offers so many little tips to improve flavour and organise the flow of preparation. I enjoy her warmth, sense of humour, and ability to giggle at herself when she occasionally messes up.
Previous
Next
Subscribe To My Newsletter & Get A Free Online Italian Cooking Class (RRP $39)