This Roasted Potato and Poached Halibut recipe is one of those meals that has been sitting in my "to post" folder for a while. I took so many pictures while making this, I guess I kept putting it off because it seemed like such a chore to dig out and post. Well it's been a very busy week in our house and I've finally carved out some time to talk about this fish recipe.
The potatoes will take a while to roast in the oven, so I start by giving them a good scrub with a had bristled brush under running water. Look for ugly "potato eyes" and pick those off too.
I have the recipe I followed for the Halibut, but I honestly don't know what directions I was following for the potatoes. For some reason I put the whole potatoes in the oven...but not sure how long because you can see in future pictures that they are not cooked all the way through.Here are the ingredients you need for the Halibut:
Halibut fillets
peppercorns
salt
onion
lemon
bay leaves
Here are the ingredients for the sauce:
butter
flour
water
halibut broth
lemon
capers
Start by filling a 4 quart pot half with water.
Add 10 peppercorns to the water.
Along with 2 teaspoons of salt,
Slice a medium onion, add to the water as well.
Slice one lemon, add to water. 
My mother sent me this beautiful bay leaf wreath, it smells divine and I pluck dried bay leaves right off of it to cook with (rinsed first of course.)
So to recap, we have two quarts of water, 10 peppercorns, 2 tsp salt, 1 medium onion sliced, 1 lemon sliced and 6 bay leaves. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.
While the water simmers for 10 minutes... lets check back on the potatoes.
By the looks of this picture, the potatoes don't seem cooked all the way through. But I removed them from the oven and quartered.
In a mixing bowl I added some olive oil and stirred to coat.
Added some course sea salt to the potatoes.
Then spread them out onto a rimmed baking sheet.
Seasoned with Italian seasoning. You could use whatever fresh or dried herbs you had on hand.Then put the potatoes back into a 425 oven to crisp up and finish cooking all the way through.
After 10 minutes of simmering, I put the halibut fillets in the water and bring it down to a slow boil until the fish is done. It will start flaking.
Carefully remove with a slotted spoon or spatula when fish is cooked through.
Set aside on a plate while we make the white sauce.
Oh look, I added some asparagus to the roasting pan. I love love love roasted asparagus. Toss the potatoes around every 10 minutes or so, we want them to brown evenly in the oven.
For the sauce.... in a deep saucepan, melt 1/4 stick of butter over low heat.
Add 1/4 cup flour and stir constantly until completely absorbed by the butter.
Be careful not to let the butter burn.
Add a little bit of the broth from the halibut pot and continue to stir, gradually adding more water and stirring until the sauce becomes a thick mixture the consistency of thin dough.
Keep going. Whisking, and adding water/broth.
Make sue there are no lumps. Once the sauce has a creamy consistency, we add the other flavors.
Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon.
Whisk, whisk, whisk.
Add 1/4 cup of capers.
Along with 3 tsp of caper juice.
You could also add a splash of white wine in there to make it even richer. Stir. Taste, and add seasoning as necessary.
I added a pinch of salt and a hearty sprinkling of black pepper.
When the sauce is the way you like it, Carefully slide the halibut pieces into the sauce, spooning sauce over the top of each halibut fillet.
Let this steep for about five minutes on a very low heat.
The potatoes are crispy now, and ready to serve.
The asparagus look good too. I love when the ends are charred and crispy.
Serve by plating the halibut with potatoes on the side along with asparagus, cover with the sauce.
This was the first time I have ever poached a fish. I thought the subtle flavors from the boiling liquid added a nice touch. However, I personally like the crispy edges that occurs when you pan sear or bake fish. It's a texture thing, not a flavor thing. I can check "to poach" off the list now that I've attempted it. I really liked the roasted vegetables!
This is the wine we served with the meal. Yum! Penfolds Kalimna Shiraz.
After 10 minutes of simmering, I put the halibut fillets in the water and bring it down to a slow boil until the fish is done. It will start flaking.
Carefully remove with a slotted spoon or spatula when fish is cooked through.
Set aside on a plate while we make the white sauce.
Oh look, I added some asparagus to the roasting pan. I love love love roasted asparagus. Toss the potatoes around every 10 minutes or so, we want them to brown evenly in the oven.
For the sauce.... in a deep saucepan, melt 1/4 stick of butter over low heat.
Add 1/4 cup flour and stir constantly until completely absorbed by the butter.
Be careful not to let the butter burn.
Add a little bit of the broth from the halibut pot and continue to stir, gradually adding more water and stirring until the sauce becomes a thick mixture the consistency of thin dough.
Keep going. Whisking, and adding water/broth.
Make sue there are no lumps. Once the sauce has a creamy consistency, we add the other flavors.
Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon.
Whisk, whisk, whisk.
Add 1/4 cup of capers.
Along with 3 tsp of caper juice.
You could also add a splash of white wine in there to make it even richer. Stir. Taste, and add seasoning as necessary.
I added a pinch of salt and a hearty sprinkling of black pepper.
When the sauce is the way you like it, Carefully slide the halibut pieces into the sauce, spooning sauce over the top of each halibut fillet.
Let this steep for about five minutes on a very low heat.
The potatoes are crispy now, and ready to serve.
The asparagus look good too. I love when the ends are charred and crispy.
Serve by plating the halibut with potatoes on the side along with asparagus, cover with the sauce.
This was the first time I have ever poached a fish. I thought the subtle flavors from the boiling liquid added a nice touch. However, I personally like the crispy edges that occurs when you pan sear or bake fish. It's a texture thing, not a flavor thing. I can check "to poach" off the list now that I've attempted it. I really liked the roasted vegetables! 
This is the wine we served with the meal. Yum! Penfolds Kalimna Shiraz.
I have never had Hailbut. But you make it look delicious
ReplyDeleteWhere did you mom get that wreath??? So cool!
ReplyDeleteYour meal looks scrumptious. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThe wreath is from Williams-Sonoma, they have them online every year around the holidays. I loved mine!
ReplyDelete