Heavenly Halibut

One of our favorite seafoods is halibut and this is the best recipe we’ve come across yet. We can’t take credit for it however – you can find this recipe online in many places. But it’s so good that we decided to share it with you here in case you’ve not seen it before.

As with all seafood, it starts with a good quality, fresh piece of fish. Find a good seafood retailer and don’t be afraid to ask them if you can give it a “sniff test” before they wrap it up for you. (that’s a good rule of thumb for any seafood and if they won’t let you do this, maybe it’s time to find another place to buy from).

Don’t confuse “seafood smell” with “fishy smell”. All saltwater seafood smells like, well it smells like fish (duh?) but if it’s a strong, unpleasant “fishy” smell, then maybe you need to try something else for dinner tonight. If it smells like fresh seafood however, get ready to be delighted by this recipe.

On the side, roasted asparagus goes very well with this dish and it is so easy to prepare because it goes in the oven along with the halibut. We like asparagus enough that we eat one bunch between the two of us. If you decide to do asparagus as well, you’ll want to start with it first and here’s how:

Asparagus

Bend each asparagus spear gently and discard the end that breaks off opposite the spear tip. (this ensures it will be the most tender and tasty).

Arrange the spears on a shallow baking sheet and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Place it in a pre-heated 400 degree oven about 15-20 minutes before you put the halibut in the oven (*see note below on cooking times).

Prepare the Halibut

Figure on about 1/2 pound of halibut per serving – we did exactly one pound for a dinner for 2 for this blog post.

Ingredients you will need are:

• Halibut
• Mayonnaise
• Softened butter
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Green onions or scallions
• Lemon juice
• Hot sauce (optional)

While the asparagus is cooking, prepare your halibut. If it is more than 1 inch thick, you should cut it in half.

Next, place the halibut on a baking sheet and begin preparing the topping.

Pro tip: Clean up is much easier if you line your baking sheet with aluminum foil.

*Cooking times vary depending on how thick your halibut slices are and also how fat your asparagus spears are. Thinner pieces will cook more quickly. Our asparagus was medium thickness, a little more than 1/4 inch diameter, and the halibut was 3/4 inch thick.

After the asparagus has roasted for about 15 minutes, set the oven on High-Broil and put the halibut on the top shelf above the asparagus.

Next, prepare the heavenly topping. Combine 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, a dash of hot sauce and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of diced green onions. Mix well in a bowl.

After about 8 – 10 minutes of broil time, begin regularly checking the halibut for doneness. Poke it with a fork and see if it flakes nicely. It should look somewhat dry and opaque on the inside. (ours took about 14 minutes total).

Once it is done, lavishly apply the heavenly topping and return it to the oven for about 2 minutes. 

Pro tip: This is also a good time to check the asparagus – if you like yours tender, but not to “mushy” this might be a good time to take it out of the oven.

Let the halibut cook for 2 more minutes or until a golden crust begins to appear on the topping. Then remove from oven and serve immediately.

Try this for yourself and let us know what you think.