Have I told you about my little Pia and her total and complete obsession of the last 6 months? (Besides growing her hair as long as possible, Taylor Swift and headbands of course.)

It’s Fencing. Like with swords. Is that funny to anyone else? I am still entertained by the fact that she is so into it.

It all started last winter when she saw The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan version not the original) Which I do have to admit as one of my favorite movies- both the original and the Lindsay Lohan Version. There is a little fencing scene in the movie which she thought was quite entertaining.

Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and GremolataAnd right afterwards she saw one of those Chase Bank commercials with Tim Morehouse (a USA Olympic fencer) and something about that just clicked for her. She was like “I NEED to start doing this sport.” Um…. Ok? So we found a place in Seattle where she could take lessons and now I basically live there. Coco and I come and hang out for the hours and hours a week she is in classes now, and it will be even more in the fall. I’ll be honest- I don’t spend time anywhere as much as at Pia Fencing Center but my own kitchen! But it is worth it because goodness it is fun to watch her blossom into loving something that she is doing. Plus it has become my uninterrupted editing time on my book lately, which has been quite helpful. Like seriously- I pretty much have a little office set up on a folding table there- funny how things turn out sometimes… Would you guys ever want to see a video of her doing this? She is quite aggressive for a 7 year old girl! I wouldn’t want to run into her in a dark alley…. Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and Gremolata

Anyways, my point to all of this babbling about my child (besides the fact that I love and adore her and am quite proud of her new found dedication) is that all of this practicing leaves her over the top ravenous a few days a week. So when I get home a little on the late side I am often scrambling to pull together a really filling meal that is full of healthy carbs and protein and is really nutritious. But on top of all of this it has to be FAST. Really fast.

When I made this the other night, it lined up with all of those things. We had a delicious (barely spicy) pasta that was laced with slightly hidden zucchini noodles that I made on my favorite new contraption The Inspiralizer (the best veggie spiralizer I have found by a long shot).

I also threw in sweet cherry tomatoes from our garden (when the kids pick them they are way more prone to eating them). And finally I added a gorgeous thick grilled swordfish steak, which is mild in flavor but thick and meaty in texture, and my kids actually really liked it. (I used one huge steak for four of us because Coco barely eats any- but you could make two of these if you were dealing with grown ups or bigger eaters)The topping is just a very simple gremolata made of fresh lemon zest and flat leaf parsley.

And you do also have to admit- this is really pretty, isn’t it? This whole gourmet situation only took me 15 minutes of actual cooking. Seriously. Ok, maybe that is because I had prepared the zucchini noodles earlier in the day- but still- lets say max another 10 minutes total prep if you hadn’t. That is full on working mom, do everything for the kids, get home late and still want to put a nice dinner on the table. Not bad… thank you very much. And now I will have a big glass of wine- enjoy!

Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and Gremolata

 

Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish, Lemons and Gremolata

Ingredients

  • 1 pound gluten free pasta
  • 1 large zucchini cut into noodles with a spiralizer
  • .75-1 pound swordfish steak
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 2 lemons, cut in half
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large shallot thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Gremolata
  • 2 lemons zest (from the two lemons above)
  • 1 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat a grill to high heat.
  2. Place the swordfish steak on a dish and rub with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze one half of a lemon all over the swordfish. Sprinkle generously on both sides with kosher salt. Set aside.
  3. Place the tomatoes in a small sheet of foil and add 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil to the foil. Set aside.
  4. Take the last tablespoon of olive oil and drizzle it all over the cut lemons.
  5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the pot and then add the swordfish to the grill. Also add the lemons, cut side down and reduce the heat to medium. Place the sheet of foil on indirect heat in the BBQ and shut the lid.
  6. Stir the pasta and toss together the parsley, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of olive oil for the gremolata. Set aside.
  7. After 5 minutes on the grill, flip the swordfish steak with a spatula and remove the lemons from the grill (they should have char marks on them). Put the tomatoes over more direct heat if they have not already started to blister. If they have than leave them where they are or pull to the very edge where it is not as hot.
  8. Let the fish cook another 5 to 6 minutes until just cooked through and flakey and then pull off the grill and set aside. Also remove the tomatoes and set aside.
  9. Scoop up two cups of the pasta water and reserve. Drain the pasta a minute before it would be al dente and let it sit while you put the pot back on the stove over medium heat and add ¼ cup of olive oil, the red pepper flakes and the shallot. Cook for 1 minute and then add the pasta, stirring it into the pot. Add the reserved hot pasta water and the zucchini noodles and stir everything together. Turn the heat off. Season to taste with kosher salt and serve on a platter with the swordfish, tomatoes and the grilled lemons. Top with the gremolata and squeeze the grilled lemons on the pasta to serve.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 12 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

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Have I told you about my little Pia and her total and complete obsession of the last 6 months? (Besides growing her hair as long as possible, Taylor Swift and headbands of course.)

It’s Fencing. Like with swords. Is that funny to anyone else? I am still entertained by the fact that she is so into it.

It all started last winter when she saw The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan version not the original) Which I do have to admit as one of my favorite movies- both the original and the Lindsay Lohan Version. There is a little fencing scene in the movie which she thought was quite entertaining.

Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and GremolataAnd right afterwards she saw one of those Chase Bank commercials with Tim Morehouse (a USA Olympic fencer) and something about that just clicked for her. She was like “I NEED to start doing this sport.” Um…. Ok? So we found a place in Seattle where she could take lessons and now I basically live there. Coco and I come and hang out for the hours and hours a week she is in classes now, and it will be even more in the fall. I’ll be honest- I don’t spend time anywhere as much as at Pia Fencing Center but my own kitchen! But it is worth it because goodness it is fun to watch her blossom into loving something that she is doing. Plus it has become my uninterrupted editing time on my book lately, which has been quite helpful. Like seriously- I pretty much have a little office set up on a folding table there- funny how things turn out sometimes… Would you guys ever want to see a video of her doing this? She is quite aggressive for a 7 year old girl! I wouldn’t want to run into her in a dark alley…. Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and Gremolata

Anyways, my point to all of this babbling about my child (besides the fact that I love and adore her and am quite proud of her new found dedication) is that all of this practicing leaves her over the top ravenous a few days a week. So when I get home a little on the late side I am often scrambling to pull together a really filling meal that is full of healthy carbs and protein and is really nutritious. But on top of all of this it has to be FAST. Really fast.

When I made this the other night, it lined up with all of those things. We had a delicious (barely spicy) pasta that was laced with slightly hidden zucchini noodles that I made on my favorite new contraption The Inspiralizer (the best veggie spiralizer I have found by a long shot).

I also threw in sweet cherry tomatoes from our garden (when the kids pick them they are way more prone to eating them). And finally I added a gorgeous thick grilled swordfish steak, which is mild in flavor but thick and meaty in texture, and my kids actually really liked it. (I used one huge steak for four of us because Coco barely eats any- but you could make two of these if you were dealing with grown ups or bigger eaters)The topping is just a very simple gremolata made of fresh lemon zest and flat leaf parsley.

And you do also have to admit- this is really pretty, isn’t it? This whole gourmet situation only took me 15 minutes of actual cooking. Seriously. Ok, maybe that is because I had prepared the zucchini noodles earlier in the day- but still- lets say max another 10 minutes total prep if you hadn’t. That is full on working mom, do everything for the kids, get home late and still want to put a nice dinner on the table. Not bad… thank you very much. And now I will have a big glass of wine- enjoy!

Meditteranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish and Gremolata

 

Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta with Grilled Swordfish, Lemons and Gremolata

Ingredients

  • 1 pound gluten free pasta
  • 1 large zucchini cut into noodles with a spiralizer
  • .75-1 pound swordfish steak
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 2 lemons, cut in half
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large shallot thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Gremolata
  • 2 lemons zest (from the two lemons above)
  • 1 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat a grill to high heat.
  2. Place the swordfish steak on a dish and rub with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze one half of a lemon all over the swordfish. Sprinkle generously on both sides with kosher salt. Set aside.
  3. Place the tomatoes in a small sheet of foil and add 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil to the foil. Set aside.
  4. Take the last tablespoon of olive oil and drizzle it all over the cut lemons.
  5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the pot and then add the swordfish to the grill. Also add the lemons, cut side down and reduce the heat to medium. Place the sheet of foil on indirect heat in the BBQ and shut the lid.
  6. Stir the pasta and toss together the parsley, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of olive oil for the gremolata. Set aside.
  7. After 5 minutes on the grill, flip the swordfish steak with a spatula and remove the lemons from the grill (they should have char marks on them). Put the tomatoes over more direct heat if they have not already started to blister. If they have than leave them where they are or pull to the very edge where it is not as hot.
  8. Let the fish cook another 5 to 6 minutes until just cooked through and flakey and then pull off the grill and set aside. Also remove the tomatoes and set aside.
  9. Scoop up two cups of the pasta water and reserve. Drain the pasta a minute before it would be al dente and let it sit while you put the pot back on the stove over medium heat and add ¼ cup of olive oil, the red pepper flakes and the shallot. Cook for 1 minute and then add the pasta, stirring it into the pot. Add the reserved hot pasta water and the zucchini noodles and stir everything together. Turn the heat off. Season to taste with kosher salt and serve on a platter with the swordfish, tomatoes and the grilled lemons. Top with the gremolata and squeeze the grilled lemons on the pasta to serve.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 12 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)