Seared Opah (Moonfish) With Vine-Ripe Tomato Garlic Butter

Submitted by lazyme

"It's my understanding that Opah isn't easy to come by, so I was thrilled when I found some. Then I discovered that there are not many recipes out on the internet, so recipes are also hard to come by. I found this one and we loved both the fish and the recipe. I also had to search for a recipe for the Tomato Concasse, so included it here for convenience. Just as a note, I didn't use nearly as much butter as the recipe calls for. From Chef Linda Yamada of the Beach House in Hawaii."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 453.59 g opah fillet, cut into 3-ounce fillets
• olive oil
• 29.58 ml garlic, finely minced
• 14.79 ml lemon juice
• 44.37 ml white wine
• 29.58 ml parsley, chopped (2 to 3)
• 453.59 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
• salt and pepper, to taste
• parmesan cheese, shredded

• Tomato Concasse

• 453.59 g tomatoes, vine-ripened
• 2 shallots, minced
• 59.16 ml unsalted butter

directions

1. Make the Tomato Concasse: (The French word means to roughly chop).
2. Remove the core of the tomato with the tip of a small knife.
3. At the other end, lightly score (just break the skin) of the tomato by cutting an X.
4. Plunge the tomatoes into a pot of rapidly boiling water for 10 seconds (blanch).
5. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl of ice water or under cold running water to halt the cooking process (this process is called 'refreshing').
6. The peel should now just slip off; if the tomatoes are not quite ripe, they may need to be blanched and refreshed again.
7. Place the tomatoes on a cutting board with the core side down and cut in half.
8. Remove the seeds with a teaspoon and discard.
9. Roughly chop the tomatoes to the desired size.
10. Gently cook the shallots and the tomatoes in butter without coloring them (this is called sweating) for 5 minutes and set aside until required.

11. For the Fish:

12. Heat the saute pan on medium heat until hot.
13. Add in oil; season both sides of fillets with salt and pepper.
14. Sear on both sides until medium done, approximately 4 - 5 minutes total depending on thickness of fish.
15. Remove from pan; add garlic; stir consistently.
16. Add tomato concasse, lemon juice and white wine on medium heat; let reduce until most liquid is gone.
17. On low heat, add in butter a little at a time.
18. Remove from heat; add in chopped parsley and season.

Reviews

[meganlee403]

This was absolutely AMAZING. I kept the fish warm in a 180 oven while the sauce reduced as it took some time. The freshness of the tomatoes and garlicky butter are absolutely delicious with the flaky Opah. A side note - I realized at the end of the meal prep that the author used to be the head Chef for the restaurant I used to bartend at 10 years ago! She left just prior to my employment there, but a lot of her recipes carried on and the Beach House is a fantastic stop for great food on Kaua'i. Thank you for the recipe Chef Yamada!!!

 

[Christopher H]

Excellent recipe. Made it the first time when living in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. Served this over a bed of oven roasted spaghetti squash.

 

[Johanna T.]

It was absolutely delicious , without doubt I will make this again

 

[Jesse C.]

This recipe was fabulous. I did not add tomatoes because my wife does not like cooked ones. Side dish hot pot vegetables. ?

 

[Laura K.]

This is a wonderful recipe! I only used 1/2 cube butter. Great flavors and the opah stayed nice and moist. :)