My wife and I just returned from an incredible hiking vacation to the island of Madeira. We picked the island because even in January, it is temperate, so we wouldn’t have to pack all of our winter gear or worry about avalanches. While we expected a great vacation, it surpassed our wildest expectations. The mountains and trails were stunning. The ecosystems changed from one valley and one elevation to the next…we walked through dessert scrub and cacti, ancient pine forest, rainforest…no two hikes were the same.
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the food! We had seafood nearly every day (with the exception of when I ordered Espetada, which is a group of grilled beef pieces on a giant skewer). We ate everything from Octopus (Polvo) to Limpets (Lapas). Well, after getting some inspiration from a few restaurants, we braved the grocery store to try to recreate some dishes! Our favorite fish from the island was Black Scabbard (known locally as Espada), which is probably the most grotesque looking fish I’ve ever seen…but it’s light, flaky, and mild. If you haven’t got Black Scabbard handy (as most of us don’t), we think a haddock fillet would fill in somewhat admirably.
For this preparation, we pan fried our Black Scabbard and then served it atop a bed of sauteed onions and spinach. From there, we drizzled our lemon garlic butter sauce over everything and garnishing our plate with Bolo do Caco (a traditional Madeiran sweet potato bread).
Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Black Scabbard (or Haddock) Fillets
- Salt
- 3 Tablespoons of Butter
- 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
- Lemon
- A few cloves of garlic
Method:
- Peel and slice your garlic.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in one pan, and add most of your garlic. Stir occasionally, and just as your butter starts to brown, add your wine, and the juice from a quarter or half lemon, and allow to cook down a little.
- As your garlic cooks, sprinkle a little salt on your fish fillets.
- Melt another tablespoon of butter in another pan, and add the rest of your garlic. Then, arrange your fish in that pan in a single layer. Cook for around 8-10 minutes until it becomes soft and flaky. Then, flip, and cook the other side for a few more minutes. Make sure you’ve got a minimum internal cooked temperature of 145 degrees F before finishing.
- As your fish finishes, add the last tablespoon of butter to your garlic/wine/lemon pan, and whisk it together as it melts.
- When done, plate your fish, and drizzle your sauce over everything. Devour, and enjoy!
