As I mentioned in my last post, I want to try making more of the recipes that I’ve written about in my cooking column at work. Since halibut is in season right now, I thought it would be a good time to try making chef Lee Cooper’s baked halibut with peas and lemon.
I’ve cooked fish many times, but I’ve never baked it in the oven with olive oil (and basted it throughout the cooking process). What I found when I did this, however, is a piece of fish that was perfectly cooked and very moist and flavourful.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless fillets of halibut (about 140 grams each)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)
- ½ lemon
Chef Cooper’s recipe also included pea sprouts for garnish, but I couldn’t get my hands on any that day. It would have added some nice texture, though. Also, since his recipe makes four servings, I cut it in half (so this recipe makes two servings).
The halibut fillets I bought still had the skin on, so the first thing I had to do is remove it. I learned to do this from another chef. Basically, you want to use a very sharp knife and start separating the skin from the fillet on one end of the fish. Grip the skin tightly, and keep sliding your knife down the fish, keeping it as close to the skin as possible. It takes a bit of practice, but now that I’ve done it a handful of times, it comes quite easily. It kind of feels like pulling off a wet sock.
After you have skinned your fillets, salt both sides of each fillet. Line a baking pan with parchment paper (recommended) or aluminum foil (what I used) and place your fish on the pan.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and all of the water. Then, pour the liquid over top of the fish. Pop the pan into a 350F oven, and set a timer for five minutes. The fish takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook, but you need to take the pan out of the oven and baste the fish with the oil-water mixture every five minutes.
While the fish is in the oven, start preparing your peas. I couldn’t get fresh peas, so I used frozen. I defrosted them slightly in the microwave, but I think they would have actually cooked just fine on the stove. Place the peas in a small sauce pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. If your peas are fresh or defrosted, they only take about five minutes to cook, so you don’t have to start cooking them on the stove over medium heat until the fish is almost cooked.
Don’t forget to take your fish out of the oven and baste it with a spoon every five minutes!
When the peas are done cooking, zest your lemon half over top. Give the peas one final stir so that the lemon is well incorporated.
Chef Cooper taught me a trick for checking to see if your fish is hot and cooked inside. First, you can look to see if it’s cooked just by making sure it’s all white and fairly opaque. Then, use a cake tester (or fork) and stick it into the thickest part of the fish. When you take it out, place the cake tester or fork on the inside of your wrist or on your lip. If it feels warm to the touch, your fish is hot!
Before plating the fish, squeeze the juice from the lemon half over your fish. I tried to copy Chef Cooper’s plating: by placing the fish in the centre of the plate and spooning the peas over top. It would have been nice to have the pea shoots for a little extra height. Next time.
