Peppered Swordfish with Cardamom-Carrot Sauce

Serves 4...Calories 171...Fat 5.7 g...Protein 23 g...Sodium 116 mg... Fiber 1 g...Carbohydrate 5.5g

1 teaspoon cardamom pods
3/4 cup carrot juice
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt, to taste
1 pound boned, skinned swordfish or halibut
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (optional)

1. Preheat over to 400*F.
2. Crush cardamom pods; remove seeds.
3. In a 1-to-1 1/2-quart pan, mix cardamom, carrot juice, rice vinegar, cornstarch, and sugar until well blended. Stir over high heat until mixture boils; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1/2 cup, 7 to 9 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Pour sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl.
4. Meanwhile rinse fish, pat dry, and cut into 4 equal portions. Rub fish with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Set a 10-to-12 inch nonstick frying pan (with ovenproof handle) over high heat. When pan is hot, add fish and turn as needed to brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total. Sprinkle black pepper evenly over fish.
5. Put pan in oven; bake until fish is opaque but still moist-looking in the center of the thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Transfer fish to rimmed plates. Spoon sauce evenly around fish, and sprinklw with chives.
**Making The Cut, Jillian Michaels**