Have you ever heard of a fish called turbot?
I came across turbot in the fish section of a cookbook once — I have been known to sit around reading cookbooks, believe it or not — but I had never heard of it.
So I said to my all-knowing husband, “Have you ever heard of TUR-butt?”
“HAHA!” he laughed at me. “It’s not TUR-butt. It’s TUR-boh.”
“Oh yeah?” I said to that know-it-all. “Is it anything like haliboo?”
Well that shut Smarty McSmartypants up pretty quick. Anyway, today I don’t have TUR-butt or TUR-boh for you. I have haliboo. Er, halibut.
This recipe is a particularly good way to go if you have overloaded yourself on Dodger dogs, peanuts, and beer on Monday night… and baby back ribs and hush puppies on Tuesday night. It’s light, delicious, and artery-friendly. And it’s incredibly easy to make, which is helpful when your aforementioned junk binges have left you feeling sluggish.
This week I found beautiful wild caught, fresh halibut at Santa Monica Seafood. If you don’t have a “fishmonger,” as Ina Garten likes to say, and you can’t find (or don’t like) halibut, you could replace it with cod, red snapper, sole, or any mild fish.
And because it’s so light and healthy, you’ll have plenty of room for dessert. 🙂
HALIBUT WITH LEMON, TARRAGON, AND HONEY
1 halibut fillet (mine was .84 pounds and was more than enough for 2 people)
Several sprigs of fresh tarragon (1 little package bought in the refrigerated herb section should do it.)
2 T olive oil
2 lemons (you will actually use 1 1/2)
1 very generous drizzle of honey
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper to taste
Lightly coat a nonstick baking dish with cooking spray. Take about 2-3 sprigs of tarragon, remove the leaves from the stem (hold the stem at the top with one hand and pull down against the leaves with the other hand to remove them), and roughly chop. Combine olive oil and chopped tarragon in a small skillet and cook over the lowest heat until very fragrant. Meanwhile, place remaining whole tarragon sprigs in the bottom of the baking dish. Thinly slice 1 lemon and layer the slices over the tarragon. Place the fish fillet on top of the lemons. Salt & pepper. Drizzle tarragon oil over the fish. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper. At this point you can cover the dish with aluminum foil and put it in your refrigerator until you are ready to proceed, up to a few hours.
When you are ready to cook the fish, heat oven to 400. Drizzle the fish with the juice of half a lemon. Bake, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for about 20 minutes. Remove aluminum foil, drizzle very generously with honey, and bake for about 10 minutes more, or until fish is cooked through.
Your baking time will depend on the size and thickness of your fish. Mine was about 1 1/2 inches thick, maybe a little more. Your cooking time will be less, obviously, for a thinner piece of fish.
Thanks to my assistant, Hubba Bubba, for the expert honey drizzle.
xoxo,
