Poached Halibut

Halibut is such a treat for us to enjoy! As avid salmon fishers, we usually don’t have a large stockpile of bottom fish in the freezer, which means each meal that features halibut is a special one. Halibut can be enjoyed many ways – baked, pan fried and deep fried, but one of my favourites is poached in a coconut tomato sauce. Play around with how much jalapeño you add in the recipe to alter how spicy the dish is.

 

Ingredients

1 to 2 lb halibut fillet, skin off

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 to 1 whole jalapeño, finely diced (use the lesser amount if you don’t like extra heat)

400 ml can of coconut milk

500 ml chicken stock

2 tsp cane sugar

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Juice from half a lime, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

How To Make Poached Halibut

Heat up oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in onions and cook until tender. Stir in garlic and cook for approximately one minute. Stir in the tomato paste and the jalapeño (adjust the amount of jalapeño to your preferred level of heat) and cook for around five minutes, stirring regularly to avoid scorching the mixture. Add in the coconut milk, chicken stock, sugar, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 15 to 20 minutes.

 

After the sauce has cooked and reduced, place the halibut fillet into the pan. If not completely covered by sauce, spoon some overtop of the fillet. Cover the pan and poach for five to 10 minutes – you don’t want to overcook the fish, but cooking times will vary drastically depending on thickness of fillet. The halibut should flake apart when done.

 

Serve the halibut on a bed of rice. Once halibut has been removed from the sauce, stir in green onions and cilantro and squeeze in the juice of half a lime to your taste preference. Spoon sauce overtop of halibut and rice and serve.