Tahini-Roasted Swordfish

Convert the fish hater in your life (there’s always one).

One of the few ways my fish-hating sister would eat the stuff was when my mom roasted fillets in a tahini sauce and topped them with fried pine nuts and parsley (a favorite Lebanese preparation). The tahini bakes into a rich, luxurious sauce that pairs especially well with meaty swordfish. But don’t limit yourself to fish. Tahini roasting works great with everything from thick slices of eggplant and zucchini to skin-on chicken breasts and lamb meatballs. Just make sure to give everything a strong sear first; it won’t get any additional color or crisp once you’ve slathered it in tahini.

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

• 2 skinless swordfish fillets (10 to 12 ounces)

  Hello, Home Cooking: Do-Able Dishes for Every Day: A Cookbook Ham El-Waylly

• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

For the Tahini Sauce

• ½ cup tahini

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons), plus more as needed

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed

• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated

For the Topping

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• ½ cup slivered almonds

• ½ cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

• Rice and salad, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet.

2. Pat the swordfish dry with paper towels and season all over with the salt. Put the swordfish on the rack and let the fish sit in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.

3. To make the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, 1 cup water, the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and garlic. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice or salt as needed. It should have the consistency of a melted milkshake. Add water a tablespoon at a time if it is too thick or a tablespoon at a time of tahini if it is too thin. (Taste and reseason if adjusting the consistency.) Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Place a large oven-safe pan over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Add the neutral oil, swirl to coat, then add the swordfish. Press down firmly on the swordfish with a spatula to ensure maximum contact with the pan. If you have some kind of press, this would be your big moment to use it. Cook until the swordfish is golden-brown on one side, 2 to 4 minutes. Kill the heat, flip the swordfish over, and pour all the tahini sauce on the fish. The fish should be completely enveloped.

6. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the swordfish is cooked through; a skewerlike object should pierce the flesh without much resistance, and if you poke a fillet, it should no longer feel fleshy, 12 to 14 minutes.

7. While the fish roasts, make the topping: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the almonds are lightly toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Kill the heat and add the parsley. Stir to combine.

8. Transfer the fish and tahini sauce to a serving platter. Top with the almond mixture and serve with the lemon on the side. Serve with some white rice and a salad if desired.

“Hello, Home Cooking” Copyright © 2026 by Ham El-Waylly. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Laura Murray. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, A division of Penguin Random House LLC.” 

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