with Creamy Fennel-Tomato Sauce
Y
es, you can cook fish in a slow cooker, but it's a little different than making a pot roast or brisket.
Instead, you build a complex sauce through long, even cooking. Then slip the fish into the sauce for
the last 30 minutes or so, until it's just cooked through. Meaty swordfish is perfect here, but in the
summer, we also make this with fresh halibut steaks; just be sure your steaks are at least 1 inch
thick so they cook in the same amount of time.
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small fennel bulb (about 10 oz.), trimmed,
cored, and chopped; fronds reserved for garnish
1 large shallot, chopped
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 lb. 1-1/4-inch-thick swordfish steaks,
blood line removed
Mix the tomatoes, fennel, shallot, tomato
paste, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, 1/2 tsp.
salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a 5- to 6-quart
slow cooker until the tomato paste dissolves.
Cover and cook for 2 hours on high or 4
hours on low. (The sauce can stay on the
keep-warm setting for up to 6 hours.)
Season the fish generously with salt and pepper. Turn the slow cooker to high (if it was on low or keepwarm) and stir in the cream. Nestle the fish steaks in the sauce, cutting them to fit, if necessary. Cover and
cook until the fish is cooked through (use a paring knife to cut into the fish to check), about 30 minutes. Use
a spatula to divide the fish into four servings, then serve in bowls with the sauce, garnished with fennel
fronds.