“Who doesn’t love a good schnitty! This bone-in, Flintstone-like chop relies heavily on being fried in ghee,” says fish butcher Josh Niland. “The flavour and stability of temperature that ghee provides is unrivalled by other cooking fats.”
Tip: for the perfect soft-boiled egg, bring salted water to the boil, add the eggs, cover and simmer for six minutes. (“Exactly six minutes,” notes Mr Niland.) Drain and cool the eggs in a bowl of iced water, and peel gently, while still in the iced water, leaving the shells behind.
Read: Fabulous Fish Pie
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 × 250g (9 oz) swordfish cutlets, bone in
- 250 ml full cream/whole milk
- 1 large egg
- sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
- 250g plain flour
- 180g white panko breadcrumbs
- 160g ghee
For the egg salad:
- 4 soft-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled
- 100g freshly made or best-quality mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 11/2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
- 11/2 tablespoons finely diced
- celery heart
- 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and drained
- 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
Read: Asian-Style Grilled Fish
Method
Place each swordfish cutlet between two sheets of baking paper and beat with a meat mallet to an even thickness of approximately 2-3mm.
Place the milk and egg in a shallow bowl, season with salt and whisk to combine. Tip the flour and breadcrumbs onto separate flat baking trays or dinner plates.
Dip the swordfish first into the flour and tap away any excess, then dip it into the egg mixture, allowing the excess to drip away. Lastly, coat with the breadcrumbs, pushing down firmly so the breadcrumbs stick evenly from edge to edge.
Melt half the ghee in a large cast-iron frying pan over medium heat. Add one cutlet and cook for four minutes, keeping the pan moving to swirl the fish around in the hot fat and turning it over halfway through cooking, until golden and evenly coloured on both sides. Season liberally with salt and pepper, then transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to rest. Repeat with the remaining ghee and the second cutlet.
For the egg salad, halve the soft-boiled eggs lengthways. Stir all the remaining ingredients together in a serving bowl until combined, then position the halved eggs on top. Season with a little more salt and pepper. Serve with the swordfish cutlets.
Read: Fish and Chips
Take One Fish: The New School Of Scale-to-Tail Cooking And Eating by Josh Niland is published by Hardie Grant, available now. Photography by Rob Palmer.
What’s your favourite fish to cook at home? Please share how the recipe turned out for you in the comments section below.
– With PA
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