Tales from the Kitchen: Halibut Piccata

This past July, I took another fishing trip to Alaska with my son, Kyle, and 2 of his friends. This time, we went to an island near Sitka. One amazing sight occurred over and over. Each day, the guides cleaned the fish and threw the fish carcasses aside. Then beautiful bald eagles would swoop in to eat the remains. We caught salmon, halibut and cod. So this month, I thought I would share a simple hailibut recipe.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

1 small lemon

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon capers

4 tablespoons unsalted

butter

2 sprigs of fresh parsley

24 oz. skinless halibut fillets

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground

black pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preparation:

Prepare the following, adding each to the same small bowl as you complete it:

1) Finely grate the zest of 1 small lemon (about 1 teaspoon).

2) Juice the lemon until you have 2 tablespoons.

3) Mince 2 garlic cloves.

4) Rinse 1 TBsp capers well under cold running water, if salt-packed, to remove salt.

5) Cut 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter into 4 pieces.

6) Coarsely chop the leaves and tender stems of 2 fresh parsley sprigs (about 1 tablespoon).

Next: Pat 4 (4 to 6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets dry with paper towels.

7) Season all over with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

8) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just starting to smoke, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the halibut and sear undisturbed until well browned on the bottom and the sides are cooked just past halfway up the fillets, 4 to 5 minutes.

9) Reduce the heat to medium, flip the fillets, add the sauce, and cook until just cooked through and the flesh flakes easily, 3 to 5 minutes more.

10) Transfer to a serving platter or individual plates and pour the sauce over the top.

Bon Appetit,
Alain Guichard