A deceptively luxurious recipe for crusted halibut with some big flavouring pairings.Halibut itself is a wonderfully mild white fish, with a much firmer texture than the more common white fish like cod or haddock. This crusted halibut really shows off the taste of the fish.Halibut is quite an expensive fish, and it can be hard to find – the season is short, typically early spring. So when halibut season does finally arrive I try to enjoy it at least a couple of times.As halibut is a bit more robust than other white fish, it can stand up to fairly strong flavors. I am a big fan of coriander and cumin, so I chose to work primarily with them for this recipe. I prefer to use the whole seeds for this recipe, although you could use ground if that's what you have on hand.This recipe for coriander and cumin crusted halibut was kindly sent to Kitchen Geekery by Nancy Granada.
Ingredients
- 2 large halibut fillets (skinned and boned)
- 4 tbsp coriander seeds
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- the zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 230ºC/450ºF or Gas Mark 8, and move the rack to the highest level in your oven.
- The halibut would be best enjoyed skinned and boned – although they tend to have few bones.
Method
- Rinse the fish portions in cold water, pat dry, and sprinkle with sea salt before setting aside.
- Place the cumin seed and coriander seeds in a mortar, and grind with a pestle until the seeds are broken down but still quite coarse. If you prefer, you can use a spice grinder for this step, just zip them a few times.
- Place the seed mixture in a small bowl and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat for another minute.
- Carefully add the fish to the skillet. Top each fillet with the spice mixture and sear for 2 minutes.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes – or just enough to cook it through.
- Remove the pan from oven and allow the fish to rest in the pan for a further minute.
- Serve with a side dish such as jicama, avocado and orange salad (As pictured).
- Enjoy!
