Pasta with Swordfish Ragu and Fried Eggplants

This swordfish pasta recipe is a delicious summer lunch made with swordfish ragu and fried eggplants. It is a typical dish from Catania in Sicily, where eggplants and swordfish are a local delicacy. 

Jump to:

• What is a swordfish ragu
• Fresh vegetables for a swordfish ragu
• Frying the eggplants
• Cook the swordfish
• Making the sauce
• Putting it all together
• Tips for making the best pasta with swordfish
• 20 rules to properly cook pasta
• Recipes with eggplants you might also like
• 📋 Pasta with Swordfish Ragu and Eggplants

What is a swordfish ragu

The swordfish ragu is a sauce made with the meat of the swordfish from the neck and around the top fin. It is tastier and costs half the price of the most common swordfish steak meat cut.

I like to use different parts of the swordfish and throw away only the minimum. Eating most of the meat is a way of honouring the death of any animal.

Swordfish ragu is not cooked for a long time like a regular beef ragu as fish should never be overcooked. It is much faster to make than regular ragu, it is lighter and perfect for a summer lunch.

If you want to know more about swordfish, how to buy it and how to cook it, don't miss the article: Swordfish Facts: buying fresh and cooking choices.

Fresh vegetables for a swordfish ragu

Pasta with swordfish and fried eggplants is a speciality from Sicily around Catania and Messina. The fresh tomatoes, the basil and the eggplants are all locally grown around the Etna slope and the swordfish fished in the Messina Strait.

For the sauce, I use the tomato San Marzano, long and perfect to make a fresh tomato sauce. I also use the long eggplants and I make sure they are long and not too bulky at the end. If the base is too wide, they are more likely to have too many seeds.

Unfortunately, it is not always easy to tell if an eggplant is full of seeds, that is why I always buy my eggplants in shops I know they have a good quality of vegetables. If the eggplants have too many seeds, I just throw them away and never buy vegetables from that shop again. I take my eggplants seriously, so don't mess with my eggplants!

My mother always sliced the eggplants, season with abundant salt, lay them inside a strainer and put something heavy on top to let the acid juices drain out of the eggplant. I no longer do that as I found the eggplants are not as acidic as they used to be.

If you think they are, then let them drain in salt for 2 hours before using them.

Frying the eggplants

1. Cut the eggplants in cubes, removing the skin
2. Deep fry the eggplants in olive oil
3. Drain them in kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil

Cook the swordfish

1. Wash the swordfish and dry the excess water with a paper towel.
2. Remove the skin with a sharp knife
3. In a large pan with high hedges, stir fry the garlic cloves
4. Add the fish and stir fry, be careful not to overcook it.
5. Remove from the pan and wait until it cools down before you start to clean it.
6. Place the clean fish meat aside

DO NOT CLEAN THE PAN AFTER YOU HAVE COOKED THE FISH

Making the sauce

7. In the same pan where you cooked the fish, cut the tomatoes in slices, add the basil and let it stew at medium to low temperature.
8. Add 1 teaspoon of salt
9. Simmer until the tomatoes melt into a sauce.

Putting it all together

10. In a separate pan, you can start boiling the salted water for the pasta
11. Add the fish and the eggplants to the sauce and mix
12. Taste and adjust for seasoning
13. Add the cooked pasta into the pan and stir
14. Serve and add pepper or hot chilli if you like spicy food

Tips for making the best pasta with swordfish

• This recipe is best made with the meat from the neck and around the top fin.
• Use San Marzano tomatoes and long eggplants
• Once the swordfish is slightly cooked, it will be easy to remove the bones and cartilage from the flesh.
• DO NOT CLEAN THE PAN AFTER YOU HAVE COOKED THE FISH
• If you think the eggplants can be too acidic, cut them in slices and let them drain in salt for 2 hours before frying them.
• Pasta should always be al dente, cook 1 minute less than what is written on the package

20 rules to properly cook pasta

If you are a novice cook, here are some important points you need to know to properly cook pasta:

1. Pasta should be boiled in salted water, adding salt after doesn't work
2. Add the salt as soon as you put the pan with water on the heat, so you don't forget
3. If you don't remember if you added salt to the water, taste the water
4. Use 1 tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts - 4 liters of water which should be enough for 1lb - 500 gr of pasta
5. Make sure the pot is large enough so the water doesn't overflow once you put in the pasta
6. If you put the lid on the pan, the water will get to the boiling point faster
7. Do not add oil to the water
8. The water should be boiling hot before you put the pasta in
9. Use a good pasta brand. My favorites are (in this order): Rummo, Garofalo, De Cecco. Barilla is my least favorite one but better than any other unknown brands
10. When you add the pasta, the water may stop boiling as the pasta lowers the water temperature. Put the lid on the pan until the water starts boiling again
11. Once the water boils remove the lid otherwise the foam will overflow from the pan
12. Stir the pasta from time to time
13. Keep the heat high so the water boils all the time
14. Always cook the pasta 1 minute less than what is written on the pasta box
15. Taste the pasta and drain immediately when "Al Dente" meaning still firm and chunky
16. Never leave the pasta floating in the water once it is cooked!!!!!
17. As soon as the pasta is drained, season immediately and stir.
18. If for whatever reason the seasoning is not ready, season the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil and stir
19. Once the pasta is ready and seasoned, it has to be served and eaten immediately
20. No parmesan in pasta with seafood, you can sprinkle toasted grated breadcrumbs or almonds

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Recipes with eggplants you might also like

For more eggplant recipes, check out the category: Mediterranean Vegetables & Fruits Also check the recipes below:

• Baked Eggplant Pasta Anelletti
• Grilled zucchini eggplants and peppers
• Aubergine caviar
• Sicilian Caponata Recipe
• Deep Fried Eggplant Balls
• Easy Ratatouille Recipe Baked
• Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
• Vegetarian Rice Timbale with Grilled Eggplants Recipe
• Eggplant Milanese
• Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
• Traditional Pasta Alla Norma with Eggplants

For more appetizers with eggplants, check out the story: 15 Authentic Italian Eggplant Recipes

For seafood ideas for the Feast of Seven Fishes, check out this Web Story.

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