The perfect summer pasta dish: light, quick and easy, made with just a few simple ingredients. This swordfish pasta with cherry tomato sauce comes together in the time it takes to boil your pasta!
This swordfish pasta is a dish that you are very likely to enjoy in Sicily along with a glass of white wine and a spectacular view of the sea. The good news is you can easily recreate it at home, minus the sea view of course!
Swordfish is caught in the strait of Messina in the north east corner of Sicily. This island is known for it’s array of swordfish dishes, simply prepared with few ingredients to highlight fresh swordfish.
This Sicilian pasta with swordfish resembles pasta alla puttanesca sauce made with tomatoes, capers and olives. The result is a complete meal in one plate.
It is also an adaptation of another swordfish recipe I shared with you which consists of the same ingredients without the pasta.
So if you’re looking for an easy, light and not overly sauced pasta recipe to enjoy during the summer months, this pasta with swordfish is for you!
List of Ingredients
- Swordfish fillet
- Cherry tomatoes
- Capers: I used brine packed capers. If using salt cured capers, be sure to rinse them first.
- Olives: black or green olives
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Pasta: I used mezzi rigatoni. Other good options are penne; gemelli; rigatoni; or paccheri
- White wine
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
- Prepare the swordfish: rinse and pat dry. Remove the strip of skin and cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Prepare other ingredients: cut the cherry tomatoes in half; remove the olive pits and roughly chop the olives.
- Cook the swordfish: since swordfish does not take long to cook, I prefer cooking it separately, removing it from the pan and adding it to the sauce at the end of cooking.
- Prepare the sauce: sauté garlic and cherry tomatoes, then stir in capers and olives. Stir in the swordfish.
- Cook the pasta: until very al dente. Drain and toss with the swordfish cherry tomato sauce. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil; top with freshly chopped parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes
-If you don’t have access to fresh cherry tomatoes, substitute the same amount of drained canned diced tomatoes.
-For an extra spicy kick, add pepperoncino (spicy red pepper) along with the sautéd garlic.
-Try adding other herbs to this pasta dish (at the end of cooking) such as dry oregano or fresh mint.
-Use pasta of your choice such as rigatoni; penne; gemelli or strozzapreti.
-Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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Check out more Italian fish and seafood recipes!
- Italian Seafood Pasta
- Seafood Arancini
- Sicilian Fish with Mint, Onions and Vinegar
- Oven Baked Fish with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Spinach
- Sicilian Swordfish with Tomatoes, Capers and Olives
- Sicilian Pasta with Sardines
- Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta
- Baccala alla Ghiotta
- Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 450 grams swordfish steak 1 lb.
- 2 tbsp. olive oil plus extra for drizzling before serving
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 450 grams pasta mezzi rigatoni; penne; gemelli or strozzapreti
- 500 grams cherry tomatoes halved (about 3 cups)
- 1 tbsp. capers if using salt cured capers be sure to rinse them first
- ¼ cup green or black olives pitted, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp. parsley chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the swordfish: rinse and pat dry. Remove the strip of skin and cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Prepare other ingredients: cut the cherry tomatoes in half; remove the olive pits and roughly chop the olives.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you begin cooking the sauce.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet large enough to hold the cooked pasta. Add the swordfish, salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the white wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate any pieces of swordfish, for 2 minutes in order to allow the wine to evaporate. Transfer the swordfish to a plate and set aside.
- Add minced garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the cherry tomatoes, a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- At this point add pasta to the boiling pot of water and cook for 2 minutes less than suggested on the package.
- Stir the capers and olives into the skillet with the cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Return the cooked swordfish to the pan, stir into the sauce and cook for 1 minute.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce. Stir to combine all ingredients. If needed, add a ladle of pasta cooking water to the pan to loosen the sauce as well as help the sauce adhere to the pasta.
- Remove from the heat, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and top with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Notes
-For an extra spicy kick, add pepperoncino (spicy red pepper) along with the sautéd garlic.
-Try adding other herbs to this pasta dish (at the end of cooking) such as dry oregano or fresh mint.
-Use pasta of your choice such as rigatoni; penne; gemelli or strozzapreti. Storage Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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