All summer long, I pursued my good intention to prepare the traditional Sicilian-style swordfish rolls again after many years, a recipe I hadn’t tasted since my university days! I was keen to make them also because I hadn’t yet put the recipe here on the blog! So here I am offering them to you for the occasion exactly as I used to make them as a girl. Just a few simple ingredients, all of quality, starting with fresh fish, for a delicious result that will make them tender, nicely moist, and with a mouth-watering filling! Preparing them is truly easy, just combine all the stuffing ingredients, fill them, roll them up and cook them in the oven as I did, or in a pan with a lid! They will be the perfect main course that evokes the scents and flavors of the sea and that you can enjoy on any occasion, both with family for big occasions, and with friends during a casual lunch. Try them and let me know!
Other typical recipes from my land? Try these super tasty proposals, they will be an assured success:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter and Spring
Ingredients:
⚠ IN THIS RECIPE THERE ARE ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; buying them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything more!
- 8 slices swordfish (about 1/4 inch thick)
- 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1.75 oz spicy provolone cheese
- 1.75 oz stale bread (crust removed)
- as needed milk (to soften)
- 2 tablespoons grated Caciocavallo cheese (or Pecorino cheese)
- 0.53 oz pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon salted capers
- as needed chopped parsley
- as needed thyme
- A few leaves mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt
Tools:
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Meat tenderizer
- 1 Knife
- 8 Toothpicks
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Baking dish
Steps:
Start by washing the cherry tomatoes under running water, then on a cutting board dice them finely, without removing the internal pulp.
In a mixing bowl, soften the stale bread in the milk for a few minutes.
Once soft, squeeze it with your hands and combine it with the diced cherry tomatoes.
Add also the previously desalted capers, the pine nuts, the chopped aromatic herbs, the Caciocavallo, and the oil.
Season with salt and pepper and mix with a spoon. You should obtain a compact mixture.
Flatten each slice between two sheets of parchment paper, with the help of a meat tenderizer. They should be thin, so no more than 1/4 inch thick*. Place a spoonful of filling and a few cubes of provolone.
Roll up each slice, closing the sides as you go.
Finally, seal with a toothpick.
Place them one next to the other in a baking dish lined with parchment paper and drizzle with a bit of oil, then bake at 375°F for about 20‘ minutes. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper if the rolls are browning too quickly before finishing cooking.
Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes before serving, accompanied by a nice seasonal salad. The swordfish rolls are also delicious cold.
And voila… your Sicilian-style swordfish rolls are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 The Sicilian-style swordfish rolls can be stored in the fridge inside a suitable container for refrigeration, preferably glass, for 1-2 days.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣 * If your swordfish slices are too large, cut them in two, obtaining two almost triangular slices
🟣 The traditional filling of the rolls can vary slightly. Some make a sauté with onion without cherry tomatoes (Palermo version) and, if desired, it can be further enriched by adding some raisins or a handful of black olives cut into slices.
🟣 If you don’t like oven cooking, proceed to cook them in a pan as follows: place a cut-to-size sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of a pan that fits all the rolls. Add the rolls and turn on the stove. Cover with a lid with the classic vent hole and let cook for about twenty minutes, turning the rolls a couple of times.
