Today’s dish is another one of my Sicilian recipes: Swordfish Impanata. Impanata is Italian for empanada and they are basically the same thing: pastry with a filling. Unlike the South American empanadas, this Sicilian version is made like a pie and portioned only after cooking. You shouldn’t be surprised to find such a dish in Sicilian cuisines, as Sicily has been ruled by Spain for centuries, so the two cultures have a lot more in common than you may think. This impanata is filled with the most iconinc Sicilian ingredients: swordfish, tomatoes, olives and capers. It is delicious and very hearty. It is also a very clever way to have fussy kids eat their fish! Try it and let me know! Buon appetito!
Swordfish Impanata
Swordfish Impanata - a typical Sicilian pie filled with swordfish, tomatoes, olives and capers.
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 600 gms – 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 250 gms – 1 cup lard or butter
- 50 gms – ¼ cup sugar
- 60 ml – ¼ cup white wine
- 2 eggs
- Salt 1 pinch
Filling
- 600 gms – 1 1/3 lb. swordfish cubed into 2.5 cm – 1 inch pieces
- 8 tbsp tomato puree
- 4 tbsp celery chopped
- 4 tbsp green olives pitted and halved
- 4 tbsp capers rinsed
- 50 gms – 1/3 cup peas
- 4 tbsp onion chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Basil leaves
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Pie Crust
-
Put all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and knead it until it all comes together.
Filling
-
Sauté the chopped onion in the extra virgin olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the chopped celery, olives and capers and mix well.
-
Add the tomato puree and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes.
-
Add the cubed swordfish, peas and salt to taste.
-
Divide the dough in 2 and roll it into 3 mm – 1/8 inch thick rounds. Put one of the rounds in a greased pie dish, add the filling and then top with the other round of dough. Press the edges closed with your hands on with a fork. If you have any remaining dough, use it to decorate the pie or freeze it. Brush the pie with some milk and sprinkle some salt on the top.
-
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C - 355°F for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
-
Serve warm.
Toby @ Plate Fodder says
I’m loving this – Like a drier version of a pot pie… with a kick!