Halibut with Vegetable Succotash
At least once a week, I try to make a fish dish, and since my wife and I both really like Halibut, it’s on the menu quite often. As such, I’m always looking for new ways to cook halibut, so I can keep it interesting. Fortunately, clean, light flavored fish (like halibut) go with a tremendous variety of foods, so it’s easy to change up the dish with the kinds of sides and other flavors you can bring to the plate. In this recipe video, I do a very simply seared halibut filet, and serve it over a vegetable succotash, that provides body, texture, and flavor. It’s easy to make, and you can do it in less than an hour. Hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
For best seared Halibut and Vegetable succotash, just follow these few things:
- Cooking the fish properly is very important. Use high heat to make sure you get a good sear on both sides, and remember it won’t take long to cook. Overcooked halibut is dry, and tough, so better a bit under than a bit over. You want to just cook it through, which you can tell by making a small cut and testing the center; once it's opaque it's done.
- The vegetables will take much more time than the fish (which only takes a few minutes), so get them just about totally cooked before starting the fish
- Cook the mushrooms separately, and get them well cooked; with the moisture mostly evaporated. That concentrates the flavor and gives them a great texture; then add them at the last minute
- Season and taste as you go
Ingredients for Halibut with Succotash (for 2)
- Halibut filets (about 8 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon each of lemon, lime, and orange zest
- Shitake mushrooms – 6 – 8 sliced into strips
- 1 large Yukon gold potato
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 ear of corn with the corn cut off the cob
- 1/2 cup of finely diced onion, carrot, and celery in equal proportions
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
- Salt & pepper
Halibut Recipe
- Make a citrus compound butter, by combining the citrus zest with the room temperature butter, mixed thoroughly. Hold the butter in the fridge, and the remove about 10 minutes prior to serving
- In a sauté pan, cook the sliced shitake mushrooms in olive oil until they are well browned, and the edges a bit crisped; once cooked, hold to the side
- While the mushrooms cook, blanch the potatoes, until they are just starting to get tender; drain the potatoes and hold to the side
- In the same sauce pan, sauté the carrots, onion, celery and garlic (don’t forget to season with salt and pepper) until the onions are translucent
- Add the corn, herbs de Provence, the potatoes and chicken stock; season with salt and pepper
- Allow the stock to reduce at a heavy simmer while you cook the halibut in a separate pan
- Heat a sauté pan until very hot, coast with olive oil, season the halibut on both side with salt and pepper, and lay them into the hot pan
- Sear on one side without touching/flipping until golden brown; about 2 - 3 minutes
- Flip the fish, and sear on the other side until just cooked through, about another 2 – 3 minutes
- Add the mushrooms to the vegetable broth and taste. Adjust the seasoning if needed
- Spoon the succotash onto the plate, and lay the cooked Halibut on top
- Top the halibut with about a tablespoon of the citrus butter, and serve
Hope you enjoy this halibut dish. It may seem a bit complex, but it's not that hard. You can do the butter, mushrooms and potatoes ahead of time; and cooking the fish is very simple…so give it a try.
Wine Recommendation: I like to serve this dish with a California Sauvignon Blanc. The wine typically has a good amount of acid, and goes great with food, and won’t over power the delicate halibut flavors. The floral notes in the wine will also help accentuate the citrus butter that tops the dish.
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