Pan-Fried Halibut with Lemon Beurre Blanc

Ingredients

• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 50 ml white wine vinegar
• 75 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
• 200 g fine green beans, trimmed
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 halibut fillets, about 200g each, skin on
• Buttered new potatoes, to serve

Method

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Stir in the lemon juice and chives off the heat, season with salt and a twist of pepper, taste, and adjust now — 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.
4. Pat the halibut fillets completely bone-dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper just before they hit the pan.
5. Heat the olive oil in a heavy stainless or cast iron frying pan over high heat until it shimmers and just begins to smoke. 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.
6. Cook undisturbed for 3–4 minutes until the skin is deeply golden and lifts away cleanly from the pan. If it sticks, it isn't ready — give it another 30 seconds. Flip and cook for 2 minutes on the flesh side until just opaque through and the fillet flakes when nudged.
7. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and salt it generously — it should taste like the sea. Blanch the green beans for 3 minutes until bright and just tender with a bit of bite, then drain.
8. Pile the beans onto warm plates, settle the halibut on top skin-side up, and spoon the lemon beurre blanc generously around. Scatter the extra chive snippets over the fish, tuck a lemon wedge alongside, and serve the buttered new potatoes on the side.