Halibut has become one of my new favorite seafood options because of its flavor and texture. Halibut is a lean fish with mild, sweet tasting white flesh, large flakes and a firm but tender texture. Because of its leanness, it becomes dried-out if overcooked which is true of just about any fish you cook. Undercooking and finding that sweet spot will have you enjoying your Halibut and other fish you cook so much more.
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When making this dish my mind went to an Oscar-style topping. But instead of placing a few asparagus on top and adding a healthy portion of hollandaise sauce, I opted to add a larger portion of asparagus underneath the fish and left off the hollandaise.
In my mind, I just scored bonus points by adding more veggies and not adding additional butter.
I will agree that there’s a lot going on with this dish, and I didn’t have my standard white plate to serve on but the ingredients are pretty wholesome. Let’s go down the list.
- Alaskan Halibut (frozen) wild-caught using line and hook and sustainable
- organic asparagus
- organic tomatoes
- fresh crabmeat wild-caught from the U.S. Gulf
- U.S. grown garlic
- fresh Italian parsley
- extra virgin olive oil first cold press
Of course, I did add a side of roasted organic potatoes (olive oil, sea salt and black pepper) with the indulgence of a little shredded cheddar on top, but other than the possible location of the harvest of crabmeat it was pretty darn clean in my eyes. A restaurant-style meal prepared with wholesome ingredients.
If you’ve never had halibut you’re going to love it! And if you want to just grill, bake or saute it, remember to watch your cooking time!
If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like these:
- Pan-Seared Halibut with Creamed Spinach
- Bread Crumb Crusted Halibut with a Lemon Butter Sauce
- Swordfish Recipe
- How to Poach Mahi-Mahi (or your favorite fish)
- Grilled Atlantic Rockfish
Pan Seared Halibut with a Garlic Crab Topping
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Alaskan Halibut fillets 2 8 ounce fillets frozen or fresh
- 8 ounces asparagus 16-20 spears
- 12 grape tomatoes cut in half
- 4 ounces crabmeat
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil more if needed
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- old bay seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Season asparagus with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Roast asparagus spears in 350 oven for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the halibut.
- Rinse halibut with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly season with sea salt, black pepper and old bay.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil to the pan. Place seasoned side of halibut into hot oil and sear halibut on the seasoned side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fish over and lightly sear the other side.
- Place halibut in a baking dish with a little water and allow to finish cooking in the oven with the asparagus for 5 minutes.
- In the small frying pan add a little olive oil with chopped garlic and grape tomatoes then lightly saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add crabmeat and keep cooking until crabmeat is well heated.
- Add parsley to crabmeat take off heat.
- Place asparagus on the plate, then the halibut and top with crabmeat mixture.
- Serve with your favorite side dish.
Katharine says
I enjoyed making and eating this. I substituted broccoli rabe for the asparagus and it turned out quite well.
Stephanie Rose says
How do you cook the potatoes? Do you have a lemon Beurre Blanc recipe, thoughts on adding it?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Season the potatoes with olive oil salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven to 325 and add the cheese to the potatoes and give them another 10 minutes.