Pan-Fried Halibut with Lemon Beurre Blanc
Glossy halibut perched on a tangle of bright green beans, the pale lemon butter pooling around with flecks of chive caught in the sauce.
Ingredients
Serves 2- 1shallot, finely minced
- 100 mldry white wine
- 50 mlwhite wine vinegar
- 75 gcold butter, cut into small cubes
- 15 mllemon juice
- 1 tbspfinely chopped chives, 1 tsp reserved for finishing
- 200 gfine green beans, trimmed
- Fine salt, to taste
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 2skin-on halibut fillets, 200 g each (400 g total)
- 350 gbuttered new potatoes, prepared (optional)
- Half a lemon, cut into wedges
- Black pepper, to taste
Method
- Combine the shallot, white wine, and white wine vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until reduced to about 2 tablespoons of glossy, syrupy liquid; you want the sharpness softened and the shallot almost dissolved.
- Drop the heat to very low. Whisk in the cold butter cubes one at a time, waiting for each to disappear into the sauce before adding the next; rush this and the emulsion splits into oily butter and watery wine. The finished sauce should be pale, creamy, and coat the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the 15 ml lemon juice and 2 tsp chives off the heat, season with salt and a twist of pepper, taste, and adjust; beurre blanc lives or dies on its final seasoning. Keep warm in a spot off direct heat; too hot and it splits, too cold and it sets.
- Pat the halibut fillets completely bone-dry with kitchen paper. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper just before they hit the pan.
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy stainless or cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the halibut in skin-side down with space between the fillets; crowd the pan and the temperature drops, the skin steams instead of crisping. Press gently with a spatula for the first 30 seconds to stop the fillets curling.
- Cook skin-side down for 4–5 minutes until golden and the skin releases from the pan. Turn gently and cook for 3–4 minutes on the flesh side, lowering the heat if needed, until opaque through the thickest part and flaking easily. Thick fillets may need a little longer.
- Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and salt it generously; it should already taste good on its own. Blanch the green beans for 3 minutes until bright and just tender with a bit of bite, then drain.
- Divide the beans between warm plates and settle the halibut on top, skin-side up. Spoon over the beurre blanc, scatter with the reserved 1 tsp chives and add the lemon wedges. Serve the optional warmed buttered new potatoes alongside if using.
Per serving
- kcal
- 697
- protein
- 46.1g
- fibre
- 4.1g
- carbs
- 14.1g
- fat
- 48.2g
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