Chef and author Dominique Rizzo shares her recipe for swordish involtini with SBS Radio’s Matteo Rubbettino.This recipe is a rendition of the sarde beccafico, stuffed baked sardines, although this is my version using swordfish and the similar delicious stuffing of garlic, pine nuts, raisins, pecorino cheese and onions.
Sarde a beccafico is a typical Sicilian dish made of fresh sardines filled breadcrumbs, olive oil, pine nuts and raisins. Beccafico (which is a little bird similar to a quail, literally means beak figs). This is because they liked to beak figs. In ancient times, Sicilian nobles used to hunt and eat them. It was said that their meat was tender and to be eaten whole without being cleaned.
The poor people, having more sardines than birds, added lemon and orange juice to the filling, to lesson the strong smell and taste of the fish.