Pan Seared Halibut with Huckleberry Reduction and Hazelnut Brown Butter Sauce

The last of the season!  :(

Fresh Wild Alaskan Halibut season generally runs for 8 months, from March through November.

One of our favorite types of fish, halibut has a mild flavor, it is firm in texture, and difficult to overcook. Many people who don't like other fish simply adore halibut for those reasons.

When our fish purveyor featured these beautiful portions of fresh Halibut, I could not pass them up. The only dilemma was how to prepare them for the close of the season.

In the summer we love it simply grilled with salt and pepper, and maybe a squeeze of lemon, lime, or served with a warm  lemon-caper-butter sauce.

But because this is farewell to fresh halibut until next spring, when the season opens again, I wanted to do something a little more special.  Something that combined the flavors of the Pacific Northwest... because that's where I am. :)

I happened to have some fresh, slightly tart huckleberries on hand, and  I always keep Oregon Hazelnuts in the freezer, so I devised this recipe (actually a non-recipe), which we thoroughly enjoyed.

My apologies in advance... for those who know me or follow my blog, you know as many times as not, I'll just line up my ingredients and begin cooking without a recipe, just an idea in my head. That TRULY is the pleasure of cooking for me ~ the creative aspect of using what I have on hand, and not being tied to a recipe.

That is the case with this dish... I can describe how I made it, but there are no exact measurements ~ have fun and prepare it to taste, and in the proportions to fit your family.

Here is how I arrived at this dish ( a serving for two):

Two serving size pieces of  fresh halibut

Generous 1/4 cup Huckleberries -or other berry of your choice-

(Plus extra berries for garnish)

Hazelnuts -or other tree nut of your choice-

A tiny bit of sweetener (agave, honey, sugar)- depending upon tartness of berries

Olive Oil & Butter

Salt and Pepper

Step 1.  Make the Huckleberry -or other berry- reduction.

A generous 1/4 cup of fresh huckleberries with a couple of tablespoons of water and a little agave syrup (or sugar), to ease some the the tartness of the berries ~ not to make the sauce sweet. Bring ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low to reduce amount by nearly half. Stir occasionally. Keep warm.

Step 2. Rinse halibut, blot excess moisture off ~ salt and pepper, and dust with all-purpose flour. Tap off excess flour. Heat equal amounts of oil and butter in a frying pan over medium - high heat until melted and almost sizzling.  


Add halibut to the pan (don't crowd), allow to cook on one side for a few minutes (about 3 to 5 minutes, depending upon the thickness of fish.)  Turn once and cook other side until fish is just firm when you press down upon it. (Again about 3 to 5 minutes.) 


Remove fish to warm serving plates or a platter.  Cover loosely with foil and keep warm.

Step 3. Add another tablespoon or two of butter to the same pan, allowing it to melt, stirring to scrape up any bits from interior bottom of pan. Add chopped hazelnuts (or walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.) and allow to cook, stirring frequently to avoid scorching either the nuts or the butter.  

When butter is golden in color but not burned, remove pan from heat and keep warm.

Step 4. Drizzle the warm berry reduction on warm plates, arrange seared halibut on top. Spoon the warm hazelnut brown butter over all,  garnish with additional fresh berries, and serve right away.

Because I wanted the flavor of the fish and sauces to shine and take center stage, I didn't want any competition from the vegetable, so I served raw baby pea shoots alongside.  It turned out to be an excellent combination of flavors.   Lightly sauteed baby spinach and steamed rice would make good accompaniments as well.

If you would like a printable copy of this "non-recipe", you'll find it on my recipe blog. Click HERE. 

If you try this,  I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you for stopping by today, friends.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

~mari

Black Cod Filets with Sage on Crispy Potato Cakes

Here is a flavorful way to prepare a filet of fish, or a fish steaks. It's another one inspired by Donna Hay. Donna's recipe suggested using Black Cod so that's what I chose but I you can use any firm fish that you'd like.


I wanted to make the meal a little more substantial so I prepared a couple of very small potato cakes, one for each of us, and placed the cooked fish portions on top.


The preparation of the fish is really simple; fresh sage leaves and lime slices are quickly sauteed in a combination of butter and oil, then removed from the pan. The fish is sauteed in the same pan for a couple of minutes on each side until still slightly opaque then garnished with the sage and lime.


I would definitely prepare fish this way again, but I do think it needs the crispy, creamy potato cake for textural contrast. The potato also mellows and rounds out the tangy lime and rather strong sage flavors. A good substitute for the potato cake would be potato cottage fries, which would offer the same balance.

Yes, the potatoes really make the dish complete, imo. I served baby spinach, quickly sauteed with a few thin garlic slices in a bit of olive oil until tender.With thanks, once again to Donna Hay for her wonderful inspiration!



If you would like a printable copy of the recipe you'll find it on my recipe blog, by clicking HERE. If you try it, I hope you like it too.

Pacific Coast Seafood Chowder

Pacific Coast Seafood Chowder ~ Why Pacific Coast?

Because that's where I am, and where my seafood for this chowder is from. :)

Growing up on the Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area, we were surrounded by water; the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Naturally, since my dad was an avid boats man and fisherman, the fish he caught was on the table frequently (sometimes it seemed TOO often for us kids.)

From the bay we usually had Sea Bass. Other times he would take family and friends on overnight excursions out in the Pacific through the Golden Gate for Salmon, Rock Fish, Snapper and the like. Another treat was fresh, trap-caught Dungeness crab.

The bass was either baked or poached. Rock Fish and Snapper were usually pan-fried.

Years ago our summer vacations were spent on the boat in the Sacramento River Delta, then we would occasionally have big fish frys (usually catfish) with friends from other boats. While there we would catch bass, often crayfish/crawdads, once in a while carp, and less frequently, sturgeon. I don't remember eating the carp or sturgeon.

Salmon was fixed a number of ways; broiled, baked, poached, steamed or grilled. My French grandfather would sometimes gently poach the most lovely salmon cheeks and serve them with lemony-garlic butter, or his silky hollandaise. YUM! And, because the salmon was so plentiful, mom and dad brined and moist-smoked a good portion of it for our own enjoyment, and as gifts for family and friends.

That was always a great treat, and everyone always looked forward to receiving filets of freshly smoked succulent salmon.

Of all the fish we had though, the ONLY way I remember my folks making seafood chowder was the brothy tomato based style (similar to Manhattan clam chowder.) I still like that style very much, but I also like seafood chowder prepared this way, too. No long simmering either, so it can be on the table in well under an hour, but it's great when reheated as well.

Recipes for this kind of creamy chowder are made using generally the same method ~ however I devised this one because I wanted a recipe that was not too gloppy and thick as some tend to be so the seafood flavors are prominent. Milk replaces the cream (or half and half), though it does contain butter so it is not low fat.

One thing is for certain... it is very flavorful and it is my all-time favorite Seafood Chowder. The perfect thing to chase the chill on a damp, gray day.

If it sounds like something you might like I would love to share my recipe with you. If you try it, I hope you'll find it as enticing as we do.

You can find it HERE on my recipe blog.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Sole Meuniere ~ Super Easy

It really is super easy ~ and delicious!Just dip the sole filets in seasoned flour, saute for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
As the second side is cooking lemon zest and juice is added to the pan juices and voila! A instant and delicious sauce is formed.

These days instead of 6 tablespoons of butter, I swap out half of the butter with cannola or olive oil. I also reduce the amount of butter and oil in this recipe a bit so it still has that rich, buttery flavor, but it is lower in fat and cholesterol.






I garnish with plenty of fresh Italian parsley,lemon zest and serve with lemon wedges. Steamed rice is a perfect accompaniment, so every bit of the lemon sauce can be enjoyed. :)






If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today!

xo~m.

Pan Seared Salmon Filets with Toasted Almonds, Blueberries on Spinach with Black Fig Drizzle

I've seen recipes for Salmon presented with the unlikely paring of blueberries before, but none really appealed to me.

However, finding the kitchen overrun with fresh blueberries was encouragement enough to rethink this combination.

I still wasn't able to find a recipe that called out to me, set out to invent my own ~

I devised this simple salad which received THUMBS UP around the table. :)

If you've been following my blog, you know by now that I often "wing it" when it comes to cooking, I love the creativity it provides ~ and this recipe (more of a guideline) is no exception.

The steps are easy ~

Prepare the salad ingredients: rinse and drain baby spinach leaves, sliver as much red onion as you like, wash the blueberries, and toast almond slivers (directions follow.)

In a medium-hot saute pan (big enough to hold salmon filets in one layer), toast almonds in dry pan, stirring often until lightly toasted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In same pan add 2 teaspoons up to 1 Tablespoon or so of olive oil (you can use more but I use as little oil as possible), allow to heat over medium-hot flame.

Lightly salt and pepper (4 to 6 ounce portions ~ one per person) salmon filets, add them to the hot pan and cook turning once about 4 to 6 minutes per side (depending upon thickness of the filets)

When salmon is cooked, arrange on the beds of spinach, add about 1/4 cup of Sweet Black Fig Vinegar* to the pan the filets were cooked in and reduce over medium heat until thick, but still pourable. Drizzle over the spinach leaves and salmon.

I think a Balsamic Vinegar reduction (perhaps sweetened with a little honey) would work just as well.

Sprinkle toasted almonds, slivered red onion, and blueberries over the salad, then enjoy!

* The salad dressing/sauce is simply a reduction of

Cuisine Perels' Black Fig Vinegar it is DELICIOUSLY sweet, and not too tart.

(click to learn more.)


If you would like a PRINTABLE copy of this recipe, please click HERE to go to my recipe blog.


Thank you for stopping by!
I hope you have a healthy and delicious day. :)

xo ~m

Halibut with Chipotle Tomato-Cucumber Relish

You've probably noticed we've been including more fish into our weekly meals.

In the interest of health I choose to grill, broil, steam or poach the fish and serve it with a flavorful fresh sauces, salsas, or in this case a relish.

I try to make the sauces or accompaniments vibrant and interesting so the heavier sauces are not missed at all.

Weather permitting, I love to dine al fresco to enjoy the gardens ~ we relax and slow down to enjoy the little things, adding another dimension to the dining experience. :)

Three to four ounces of protein doesn't sound like much of a portion, but filling out the plate with low calorie, steamed or stir-fried veggies helps fill the tummy!

This time the sides were steamed haricot verts (I added a little freshly minced garlic on top, and steamed along with the beans)... which I inadvertently overcooked.

I hate when I do that! :(

I sauteed some yellow crook-neck squash with some thinly sliced yellow onion as well.

The relish couldn't be easier ~ No recipe needed.

I combined some cubed English, or "hot house" cucumber, diced tomatoes on the vine, finely diced red onion, Chipotle sauce to taste, along with a touch of white wine vinegar, a scant 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and a tiny pinch of salt to taste, if needed.

Rinsed capers would go nicely here, too.

I toss it together about 30 minutes or so before serving so the elements have a chance to mingle before serving.

All in all, a light, yet satisfying, filling dinner.

If you have your mind into eating lighter, I think you might really enjoy this.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and for any comments you might care to share.

xo~m.