Oil Poached Halibut With Tomatoes And Fennel Recipes

OIL-POACHED HALIBUT WITH TOMATOES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Simmer garlic, fennel bulbs, tomatoes, fennel seeds, sugar, bay leaf, zest, and 1 teaspoon salt in oil, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still intact, 30 to 40 minutes.
• While vegetables simmer, rub fish with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and let stand 10 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer vegetables to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then submerge fish in oil (if necessary, to lift level of oil, return vegetables to pot) and cover surface of oil with parchment paper. Cook fish over medium heat (without simmering) 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let fish cook from residual heat (still covered with parchment) until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Carefully transfer fish to a platter using 2 metal spatulas. Discard bay leaf. Surround with vegetables. Drizzle with some of oil and sprinkle with chopped fronds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TOMATO-POACHED FISH WITH CHILE OIL AND HERBS

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet (use one with a lid) over medium-high. Add garlic and shallots and cook, swirling the skillet constantly until they start to toast and turn light golden brown, 2 minutes or so. Add red-pepper flakes and swirl to toast for a few seconds. Remove from heat and transfer all but 1 tablespoon of the chile oil to a small bowl.
• Add tomatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until they burst and start to become saucy and jammy, 5 to 8 minutes. Add fish sauce, if using, and 1 1/2 cups water, swirling to release any of the bits stuck on the bottom of the skillet.
• Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened but still nice and brothy, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Season the fish with salt and pepper and gently lay the pieces in the brothy tomatoes. Cover the skillet and cook until the fish is opaque and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes (slightly longer for a thicker piece of fish, like halibut).
• To serve, transfer fish and brothy tomatoes to a large shallow bowl or divide among four bowls. Drizzle with reserved chile oil, more olive oil and the crispy shallots and garlic. Top with cilantro and mint, and serve with limes for squeezing over the top. Serve with tortillas, toast or rice, if you like.

OIL-POACHED HALIBUT WITH FENNEL, TOMATOES, AND MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• Generously season fish with salt. Coat the bottom of a 3-to-4-quart saucepan or small pot with oil, then nestle fish pieces in, skin-sides down. Add just enough oil to fully submerge fish (about1 cup); attach a deep-fry thermometer to pan. Heat over medium until oil reaches 150 degrees. Reduce heat to low to maintain temperature (remove pan from heat briefly if it climbs above 150 degrees). Cook until fish turns opaque and is just cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove with a fish spatula or slotted spoon, allowing excess oil to drip back into pot; transfer to a plate, skin-sides up, and loosely.cover with foil to keep warm.
• While the fish is cooking; in a small pot, combine potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and enough water to submerge potatoes by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium; simmer potatoes until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife., 10-12 minutes. Drain; press potatoes through a ricer back into pot (or, for a chunkier potatoes, use a potato masher). Cover to keep warm.
• Add fennel wedges, tomatoes, olives, and rosemary to pan, adding more oil to fully submerge ifnecessary. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until oil temperature reaches 210 degrees. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain temperature and continue cooking until fennel is tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove vegetable mixture with a slotted spoon,reserving oil for potatoes.
• Add milk and 1/4 cup reserved oil to potatoes, stirring until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more oil. Remove skin from fish and serve over potatoes, with vegetable mixture and a drizzle of poaching oil.

HALIBUT WITH TOMATOES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Cook couscous according to package instructions.
• In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium. Add fennel and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until they beginto soften and release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Nestle halibut in tomato mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until fillets are opaque throughout, 8 minutes.
• Fluff couscous with a fork. Reserve 2 1/4 cups for another meal. To serve, divide remaining couscous and halibut-tomato mixture among 4 shallow bowls and sprinkle with fennel fronds, if desired.

HALIBUT POACHED IN OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 250 degrees F/120 degrees C.
• Lay the fish fillets in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. Pour over enough oil to cover. Add the orange zest, fennel seed, thyme sprigs, garlic and some pepper. Bake until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the fish from the oil. Garnish with the fleur de sel. Serve with a little of the cooking oil dribbled over.

POACHED HALIBUT WITH HERITAGE TOMATOES

Steps:

• Make the tomato broth the day before. Put the tomatoes and 1/ 2 tbsp flaky salt in a food processor and blitz to a pulp. Pour into a colander lined with a muslin cloth set over a bowl to catch the juices. Fold the cloth over the pulp and put a weight on top to help squeeze out the juices. Put in the fridge overnight to strain. Take the broth out of the fridge 1 hr before serving to bring to room temperature.
• The next day, toss the mixed tomatoes in a roasting tin with 1/ 2 tbsp flaky salt, the oil and garlic, then spread them out and leave for 1 hr.
• Next, put the wine, rosemary, shallot, stock and a good pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, drop in the fish and reduce the heat so the liquid is just bubbling. Gently poach for 8-10 mins, then remove. Freeze the poaching liquor and use as a stock at a later date.
• Spoon the mixed tomatoes with their oil and garlic, the spring onions and broad beans into two serving bowls. Top with the cooked fish, then pour over the tomato broth.

ROASTED HALIBUT WITH FENNEL & POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Cut off roots and trim dark green top from leek. Discard any tough outer leaves.
• Thinly slice leek.
• Rinse thoroughly in a bowl of cold water; swish to remove any sand. Transfer with hands to a colander and drain well.
• Spray 13"x9" glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Add leek, potatoes, fennel, fennel seed, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper to the baking dish.
• Toss to coat and spread evenly.
• Roast vegetables 35 minutes or until tender, stirring halfway through roasting.
• Remove baking dish from oven. Place halibut on vegetables, drizzle with liquor and 1 tsp oil.
• Sprinkle fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
• Place lemon slices on halibut, return dish to oven and roast 10-12 minutes or just until halibut turns opaque in center.
• To serve, sprinkle with fennel fronds if using.

MARIO BATALI'S OVEN-POACHED HALIBUT IN OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Put a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Pat the fish fillets dry, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Allow the seasoned fish to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Chop half of the capers.
• Arrange half of the lemon slices in one layer in an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Arrange the fish fillets in one layer over the lemon slices. Top with all of the capers, the remaining lemon slices, and the 3 tablespoons of parsley, then pour the oil over the composed fish.
• Bake, covered, until the fish just flakes and is cooked throughout - 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serve the fish with some of the lemon slices, capers, and oil spooned over. Sprinkle with parsley leaves.
• COOK'S NOTE:
• To reuse the leftover olive oil, strain it through a paper towel-lined sieve and allow it to cool to room temperature. It will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.
• Recipe adapted from: the website of The Jane Pauley Show (on which the technique was demonstrated).