- Prep Time: 5 min.
- Cook Time: 8 min.
- Yield: 2 servings
This simple yet elegant recipe will impress your most culinary-aficionado friends. Complete the meal with Smashed White Sweet Potatoes or Simple Rice Pilaf and Bearnaise Sauce.
Blackening is typically associated with Louisiana cuisine in the USA, but the tradition dates back to the ancient Middle Eastern treatment of meats and fish for cooking. It entails seasoning the fish or meat with a ground mixture that primarily consists of freshly ground black peppercorns.
Halibut is one of the most flavorful, flaky, meaty, white-fleshed fish that you can find. It is loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Apart from being a lean source of protein, halibut is a great source of selenium, niacin, phosphorus, magnesium, energy-boosting vitamins B12 and B6, and potassium.
Look for halibut in season and avoid overfishing and farmed regions. In my experience, the best, sweetest, flakiest halibut is fished from the waters and banks off Vancouver Island.
It is important to brown the butter, but not burn it, in order to spoon it multiple times over the fish as you cook it in the sautée pan and baste it to deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of freshly cracked peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon cracked sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Hungarian paprika (hot or sweet)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried, granulated onion
- 3 ounces of unsalted butter
- 2 6-ounce halibut fillets, skinless
- 1 cup Bearnaise Sauce
- 2 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Make the dry blackening spice blend by combining the dry ingredients on a small plate.
- Pat dry the fish fillets with clean paper towels, then press the fillets, one at a time, into the seasoning to coat both sides of each fillet. Set aside.
- Make the bearnaise sauce according to the directions via these links.
- Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the halibut and cook for 4 minutes per side (or less, depending on the thickness), constantly spooning the browning butter over the fish pieces. Remove from the pan immediately and place on serving plates.
- Try stacking the fish on a bed of rosemary and roasted garlic mashed potatoes or a simple yet delicious rice pilaf. Then drizzle on the bearnaise sauce and serve with a side wedge of lemon.
- Enjoy with a full-bodied, dry white wine.
