Seared Halibut W/ Haricots Vert, Scallions and White Wine Sauce

photo by Geema

- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 1 lb young green beans or 1 lb wax bean
- 4 (7 ounce) halibut fillets, each approximately 1 inch thick
- coarse salt
- fresh ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1⁄4 cup sauvignon blanc wine or 1/4 cup other dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
- 5 scallions, white part only, finely sliced on the bias
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
- 1 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
directions
- In a pot of boiling salted water set over high heat, cook the haricots verts for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain and place them in the center of a large, warm serving platter. Cover and keep warm.
- Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn, reduce the heat to medium, and cook about 4 minutes longer, until the fish is opaque in the center and browned on both sides. Put the fish on the platter with the beans and cover to keep warm.
- Pour off any oil in the pan and add the wine and lemon juice. Raise the heat to high and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the sauce reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the butter, a piece at a time, to enrich and flavor the sauce. Add the scallions, capers, and tomato. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the fish on the platter. Serve immediately.
- My modifications: I double the wine and capers and decrease the amount of butter to 1/4 cup. If I have time, I marinade the fish for an hour in wine, olive oil, garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme.
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Reviews
-
What a surprise! My husband and I are trying to eat more fish (the healthy diet thing) but we are really getting sick of doing the same old thing. What a welcome addition to our repertoire! We did not have capers so I used salted butter and added just a pinch of salt, and the dish was excellent. However I can definitely see how capers would be a fantastic addition, and will absolutely add them next time. The flavours are nicely balanced, the recipe is easy to follow and fast enough to do after work. We had this with fresh linguini pasta tossed with a splash of EVOO, fresh lemon zest and a touch of garlic. Simple enough for every day, elegant enough for guests.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl at heart, and I've only recently started forcing myself to eat vegetables -- I suppose that's what happens when you are raised to believe that a meal isn't really a meal unless you're eating meat! My passion for food started with my parents -- since food is such a focus of Filipino culture, anything was an excuse for cooking a large meal and inviting friends or family over. Cooking, on the other hand, is something I've only recently started enjoying -- I love having adventures in different parts of the world, and when I can't do that, I love having adventures in the kitchen. So I experiment a lot with new recipes and I'm always in search of the perfect version of something.
I moved up to NYC a couple of years ago for work, and it's been heaven. The food in this city is fantastic, and I especially enjoy going out into Queens for ethnic dining. I work at a union full of burly guys who love to eat, so it's nice to be in like-minded company -- the granola vegans at my last non-profit job just didn't understand.
I'm taking ceramics classes and I travel widely -- my next trip is to Egypt, Jordan and Jerusalem in the fall.