Rita’s swordfish rolls “a ghiotta”.
Today I want to offer you a typical second course from my hometown Messina.
You should know that in our Strait of Messina, from May to September swordfish is caught with the characteristic boats with a walkway and an antenna.
This fish is the King of Messina cuisine, and there isn’t a family that in the past, present or future won’t have had, or won’t have, a relative working on these boats.
I have my husband who for many generations has practiced this fishing.
The chops or rolls can be simply grilled or “a Ghiotta”, the classic sauce with capers and olives. Besides the traditional cooking method, you’ll also find the Thermomix/Bimby method.

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Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 40 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Low heat, Stovetop, Cooking with kitchen robot
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Sicily
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

Let’s go shopping

11 oz swordfish (thin belly slices (ventresca))
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp pine nuts
2 tsp capers (in salt) (already desalted)
4 green olives in brine (pitted)
2 oz caciocavallo cheese (Ragusano PDO)
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 sprig wild fennel (chopped)
1 oz Pecorino Romano
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 oz Tropea red onion
2 tbsp capers (in salt) (desalted)
2 tbsp green olives in brine (pitted)
1 sprig wild fennel (chopped)
1 stalk celery
4 1/4 cups tomato passata

Swordfish rolls “a ghiotta”

Tools

What we need to make them

Bowl
Kitchen robot
Skewers
Pan – non-stick (large)

Preparation : Rita’s swordfish rolls “a ghiotta”

Let’s prepare the skewers with the rolls

The first thing you must do is make sure the fish is absolutely fresh.
Ask your trusted fishmonger for thin slices of ventresca, that is the belly part.
You will immediately recognize these slices because they have an almost triangular shape which makes them easier to roll up.
Soak the capers and olives for 10 minutes, then rinse them well to remove excess salt, and wash the wild fennel.
Pour 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp of water, the pitted olives, the capers and a sprig of fennel into the food processor and chop everything.
Set aside.
Prepare the filling: in a bowl put the breadcrumbs seasoned with: salt and pepper, the chopped parsley, the pine nuts, and finely cut Ragusano PDO cheese.
Pour in the mixture we chopped in the food processor and mix. If it still seems dry add a few more drops of water.
Lay all the slices out on a work surface.
Place a small heap of filling on each slice, and starting from the widest part, fold the tips inward and roll up.
If you want to know how I preserve wild fennel in every season click here to see
If you want to see how I preserve capers all year click here
Put in a fairly wide pan the onion cut into pieces, the celery and fennel in pieces, and the olives. Add the extra virgin olive oil and let it sauté for 3 minutes.
After the time has passed, pour in the passata, stir and let cook for 5 minutes with the lid on.
After 5 minutes put the skewers into the sauce, and cook them 2 minutes per side.
After the time has passed you can serve them hot and with the sauce you can dress pasta.
Here are Rita’s swordfish rolls “a ghiotta” ready
Make the rolls as indicated above, and the rest will be done with the Bimby (Thermomix).
Put the onion, celery and fennel pieces into the bowl and chop for 10 sec speed 5, then scrape down with the spatula, add the capers, the pitted olives and the oil. Cook for 3 min at 212°F (100°C), counterclockwise, speed 1
At this point add the tomato passata into the bowl, mix with the spatula.
Place the swordfish skewers in the Varoma and cover.
Cook at Varoma for 20 min, counterclockwise, speed 1.
At the end of cooking place the skewers on a serving plate and cover with the sauce. Here are Rita’s swordfish rolls “a ghiotta”