things I should know how to make: Halibut

Mike and I are big fans of Halibut. Not only is the word fun to say, it's also delicious to eat.  I l.o.v.e. it.   Every time it's on a menu, I order it.  Recently we were at a new restaurant in Lafayette called Rustic Tavern (Mike and I affectionately call it The Rusty Trombone, but that's neither here nor there) and Halibut was the special for the night.

We both ordered it.
It was delicious.
It was special...(get it? It was the special. I can't stop laughing right now, feel free to roll your eyes, or join in.)
I've dreamt about it since.  And then I was perusing the recent Cooking Light and I saw a 5 ingredient recipe involving Halibut and I thought, now this is a meal I should know how to make. Not only do I know we love halibut already, but when you order it out, you are likely paying at least $25 per plate, if you buy it at your local Whole Foods, it was $24.99 for a pound.  (And I only brought home 0.80 lbs of halibut, so it was even cheaper, and certainly enough fish for Mike and I.)

PS: aren't you impressed that I finally remembered to take a picture of the meal before we devoured it? I know, I'm learning! 

The dish was super easy to make - you can find the 5 ingredient recipe that I used for a jumping off point here.  Below is the same recipe, just including my notes:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 center-cut applewood-smoked bacon slice (I omitted this)
• 2 1/4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears) $$
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
• 4 lime wedges
• Additionally, I added the following:
• several handfuls of fresh arugula
• several handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
• a little more olive oil

1. Preparation

2. It took me a while to figure out which side you are supposed to put down into the skillet when your halibut has the skin on it -- put the meat side down (skin side up).  Cook the fish about 75% of the way on this first side, then the skin will easily peel off and you can flip it to brown.   
3. 1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add fish to pan; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked to desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan; keep warm.
4. 2 - if you are using bacon. Reduce heat to medium. Add bacon to pan; cook 4 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add corn to drippings in pan; cook 3 minutes or until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in butter; cook 1 minute or until butter melts. Stir in crumbled bacon and green onions. Serve with lime wedges.
5. 2 - if you are no using bacon.  Add butter and olive oil to the pan, then added the corn and tomatoes.  Cook for a few minutes until tomatoes have released some of their juices, corn has been cooked and beginning to brown.  Toss in arugula.  Wilt.  Toss in butter to coat everything and make a bit of a sauce.  Squeeze some lime juice into the sauce.  Serve with additional lime wedges. 
6. 3. eat. enjoy. it's pretty special. 

Cooking Light Note:

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light 
AUGUST 2013