Fortunately it's easy to get your hands on good quality fresh and frozen seafood in this day and age. Flavor factor aside, eating fish and seafood just makes me feel a tad more virtuous. While I'm sure that's part mindset, it's actually a truth, since seafood is high in Omega-3s, healthy fats that are essential for heart and brain health.
The USDA actually recommends eating seafood twice a week since it can reduce your risk of heart disease by about 36%, which means that whole virtuous feeling I get? It's more than a feeling! But, you know what else is great about fish and seafood? As a general rule, it cooks really fast—that makes it the perfect option for a busy weeknight meal.
I found that the best way to introduce my kids to seafood was to let them touch it when it was uncooked. They loved being able to pick up a whole fish, seeing a mussel open after they pushed on it, and learning to clean and shell crawfish. Letting them get hands-on with their food made them excited to try it after it was cooked!
While I wasn't able to get my hands on a whole swordfish, I did let the kids pick out their own thick, white steak from the fish counter. While I've eaten it before, this was the first time for the rest of my family, and they all enjoyed its firm, meaty texture and mildly sweet flavor. I enjoyed that I only had one pan to clean after we ate.
Now it's your turn!
- Take the Healthy Heart Pledge: A promise to yourself and your family to eat at least two servings of seafood each week while supplementing your diet with omega-3s, as recommended by the USDA HHS Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Making this change to your diet improves your overall health and reduces your risks of heart disease.
- Enter the Seafood Nutrition Partnership 2016 Recipe Sweepstakes: A total of ten winners will be randomly selected in accordance with the Sweepstakes Schedule to win a $250 gift card. You can submit one entry per day. Winners will be announced at SeafoodNutrition.org and on Instagram and Twitter. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends on 10/21/16. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C., 18 and older. For Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions, visit SNPsweepstakes.com. Void where prohibited.
One-Pan Swordfish with Ratatouille
This simple one-pan seafood dish features meaty swordfish surrounded by quintessential summer veggies. Plus, it's on the table in under 30 minutes!
by
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Keywords: entree pescetarian nut-free soy-free dairy-free fish tomatoes zucchini
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 4 (5-6 ounce) swordfish steaks
- 2 small summer squash (zucchini, yellow, or a mix), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, pierced with a thin, sharp knife
- olive oil
- sea salt (freshly ground roasted garlic sea salt is nice here)
- freshly ground black pepper
- large handful of freshly chopped herbs (parsley and basil are good here)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° F. Season the swordfish with salt and pepper on each side. Toss the veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper; set aside.
Set a 12 to 14-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is very hot, drizzle in a enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan, then add the swordfish steaks; cook for 3 minutes. Flip the swordfish over and scatter the veggies in the pan over and around it.
Slide into the preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and scatter with the fresh herbs. Serve each piece of swordfish with 1/4 of the ratatouille veggie mixture.
Add a small chopped eggplant and a clove or two of smashed garlic to the vegetable mixture for an even more authentic ratatouille taste.
