A baked swordfish wheel is an easier alternative to a whole fish bake. It is mess-free as there are no tedious fish bones to clean and it is perfect for entertaining a large number of guests, a wheel will serve up to 8 people.

A swordfish wheel is easy to make and perfect for entertaining a large number of guests, a wheel will serve up to 8 people. #yourguardianchef #seafood #recipe

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When to make this recipe
What piece of swordfish
How to bake it without getting it too dry
How to make it
What to serve with it
Swordfish substitute
More recipes with swordfish
📋 Baked Swordfish Wheel

When to make this recipe

This recipe is from my late uncle Natale Zerbi who, as the oldest in the family, would often entertain all family members, more than 50 guests at times.

My cousin Domenico, his son, is keeping with family traditions and offered 6 swordfish wheels as one of the main courses at this year's summer party, hosting 80 guests.

He has kindly shared the recipe.

When you have a large dinner party, baking a swordfish wheel in the oven is a much easier solution than baking a whole fish.

There are no fish bones to remove, the meat is lean and easy to serve.

What piece of swordfish

This recipe uses the tail of the swordfish cut into wheels; they will weigh about 4lb - 2 kg each.

For more information on swordfish meat, how to see if it is fresh and how to use the different parts of the fish, don't miss the article: Swordfish Facts: buying fresh and cooking choices

How to bake it without getting it too dry

The problem with the swordfish, as well as the tuna, is that it is a lean fish, therefore if baked for too long the meat can get dry and tough.

To make sure the swordfish remains moist and juicy, this recipe uses 2 techniques:

The wheel is placed in a pan and covered with aluminium foil
The pan is cooked inside a larger pan filled with water: Bain Marie

The pan with the swordfish is not placed directly on the bottom of the larger pan but raised so that water can circulate below the pan.

You can do this using some metal caps like the one for the beer or small jam cans.

How to make it

Rinse the swordfish wheel under water and dry with a paper kitchen cloth
Make sure that there are no bone chips
Cut the cartilage and the bone from the meat and remove them. If you don’t do so, the wheel will deform while cooking.
You can use the bone for a swordfish ragu
Salt both sides of the wheel
Cover the base of a baking pan with olive oil.

Place the wheel inside, and cover with cherry tomatoes cut in half and basil leaves cut in stripes. Sprinkle with olive oil and cover with aluminium foil
Place the pan inside a larger one and add water in the larger pan. Put something underneath the pan to let the water circulate underneath. You can use some metal corks
Cook in the oven at 350 F - 180 C checking every once in a while. The swordfish will be ready when white juice comes out if pierced with a toothpick. The cooking time will be about 1 hour, but it depends on the height of the wheel and the type of oven.
Once ready, take it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes, uncovered.
The swordfish while cooking releases a clear juice full of flavor. Serve it pouring the juice over the swordfish.

What to serve with it

The swordfish wheel can be served as a main dish at a seafood dinner party with some fresh vegetables and some Italian potato salad.

You can find some ideas of side dishes in the post seven vegetable side dishes.

Swordfish substitute

You can use this same recipe to cook tuna.

They are very similar as they have no fish bones and their meat is very lean.

Although a tuna wheel is much smaller than a swordfish and will serve fewer people.

The cooking time will also be shorter.

More recipes with swordfish

Here are some more ideas on how to cook the swordfish and which part of the meat is best to use:

For more seafood ideas you can read the article Feast of 7 Fishes: Italian Christmas Eve

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

If you are making the baked swordfish wheel, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.