Spring Halibut

My hubby and I are on a diet and can only eat certain foods, Halibut being one of them. He came up with the most amazing, diet friendly, recipe I've ever had. I get to have it again for lunch tomorrow since all three of these are mine - Yay!!

PS - no comments about me not needing to diet. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that Easter mini eggs combined with the intense stress of my computer crashing caused me to put on 18 pounds in 2 months. Yikes! I know. I really don't handle stress to well do I? At least I'm fixing the issue now along with my computer!!

In case you are needing a low fat Halibut recipe that tastes AMAZING, here it is...
(Note, he does use a tiny bit of butter since he LOVES the taste so much better but he said you could substitute something else like Olive Oil it just won't taste as good - his words, not mine!)

Garnish and Aromatics

1 carrot, lightly shaved.

2 spring onions (green onions). Thinly cut the white parts and separate. Thinly slice the green parts (only the light green, not the dark green) and separate so they are stringy.

½ red bell pepper. Thinly slice red pepper into slivers. Dice some red peppers and set aside.

Fish

Fresh halibut fillets. Do best to ensure consistent thickness in the fillet. A good fillet would be around 1 inch thick. Lay out on cutting board or preparation sheet and apply a good coat of ground sea salt followed by a layer of fresh ground pepper (mixed). Then apply an even amount of good no salt seasoning to the fillets evenly. Last, apply a light amount of lemon herb seasoning evenly to the fillets. Turn and repeat on the other side. Allow fish to rest with the seasoning for at least 20 minutes and rotate the face-down side to ensure seasoning penetration on both sides. The fish should be room temperature by the time you cook.

Heat

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pre-heat a think, oven safe skillet over the stove top on slightly over Medium heat. The pan must be hot enough to melt butter without scorching it. You will need approx. 1 tablespoon of butter per two halibut fillets.

Cooking

Once skillet is pre-heated, add butter and some the white parts of the green onions and the diced red peppers. Spread onions evenly through the butter. This will aromatically flavor the butter with the onion and red pepper. Ideal to keep the butter and vegetables in the same place so the flavor is concentrated. Once melted, allow to simmer for about 1 minute so the vegetables can soften and thus release more flavor. Be sure that the butter is not scorching. Spread the butter evenly in the center of the pan and move the vegetable to the edges for now as to make room for the fillets. Ensure that the center of the pan is well buttered and hot.

Place fillets in the center of the pan side by side and turn up the heat to Medium High and allow to fry for 2 - 2 ½ minutes. Position the vegetables closely around the fillets. Once the time has elapsed, peek on the cooked side to ensure the halibut fillet is an evenly golden, deep brown. Also, notice the thickness of the fillet starting with the cook side. You should see that the ¼ inch underside is a deeper white than the center which suggests that the fillet has cooked through to that point. Gently turn over to fry on the other side. Make sure the fillet does not break or fracture. Typically the fillet does not fracture unless it is cooked through. Repeat on the other side for 1 ½ minutes. With the cook side exposed, place some red pepper slivers on the cooked side and garnish with the stringy green onion and the carrot. Once the time has elapsed, take the pan off the range and place it on the bottom rack in the oven and finish in the oven for 2 - 2 ½ minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest 3-5 minutes before serving with your favorite side dishes.