A ridiculously good halibut recipe

One of the best things about living in Vancouver is access to crazy-wonderful halibut from the Queen Charlotte Islands. Rich but not fatty, mild but not tasteless, halibut is my absolute favourite fish. Lucky for me, our landlord is a fervent halibut fisherman, and he regularly treats us to presents of his catches. It doesn’t get fresher than this.

Earlier this year, we got our hands on a brilliant cookbook by Karen Barnaby, entitled simply, Halibut. Though all the recipes we’ve tried from the book have been delicious, the one I’m about to share with you is extraordinary. I would imagine that if you can’t get fresh halibut, cod would be a fine substitute.

If you can speak to your dining companions while you’re tucking into this dish, you have an above-average sense of decorum. Our landlord, who avoids eating fish even though he loves to catch it, was converted when his wife cooked this for him. He spread the recipe far and wide among his friends, and thanked us for it every single time we saw him for a month.

Without further ado:

Karen Barnaby’s Halibut with Mustard Nut Crust

Ingredients

4 Tbsp butter, softened, divided
¼ cup whole grain mustard
½ cup hazelnuts, skinned and roughly ground
4 6-oz halibut fillets, 1 inch thick
to taste: kosher salt
to taste: cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 ½ cups white wine
½ cup black olives, preferably niçoise
4 to 5 sprigs thyme

Method

Preheat the oven to 500º F (250º C). Prepare the crust mixture by combining 3 Tbsp of the softened butter with the mustard and hazelnuts. Season the halibut with salt and cayenne pepper. Spread the crust mixture evenly over the top of each piece of halibut.

Heat an ovenproof pan (large enough the hold the fish without crowding) and add the remaining 1 Tbsp butter. Place the fish in the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped thyme and pour enough wine around the fish to come half way up the fillets and not touch the crust. Spread the olives and the thyme sprigs around the fish.

Bring the pan to a boil on top of the stove, then place it in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Change the oven setting to broil and cook for another 2 minutes or until the crust is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Kiley Cooking Tip

This recipe reminds me of a key step in making the most of a recipe: read the method, or instructions, completely before getting going. It’s so easy to get impatient and not read through the process before jumping into ingredient assembly. This recipe in particular calls for some dexterous oventop-to-in-the-oven maneuvering, and it’s good to know that in advance.

Bon appetit!

Comments

[tapineuse Demoiselle]

Je suis tombé sur ce post par mégarde : je nne le regrette point !!