We’re back!! Work and travel kept us from cooking much these last six weeks, but we’re happy to be in the kitchen once again, making meals and messes. Our first food foray was this absolutely fantastic halibut dish. I know, I know, fish Osso Buco style?? What’s up with that? Delicious, low-cal fare for a jet-lagged couple. The secret? Lemongrass. The delicate flavor updates this classic sauce, giving it a slightly Asian twist. It was awesome!
Halibut Osso Buco Style
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbls. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped peeled carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbls. tomato paste
1 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock/broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes in puree (15-ounce can)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup chopped lemongrass (from 3 stalks)
2 tbls. soy sauce
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
4 6-ounce halibut fillets
2 tbls. balsamic vinegar
Gremolata
1 lemon
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
2 garlic gloves, minced
Preparation for the Halibut
Heat 1 tbls. oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic; sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Add white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Add next 7 ingredients; simmer until mixture is thick and reduced to 3 cups, about 50 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle halibut with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Heat remaining 1 tbls. oil in heavy large oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add fish to skillet and cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer fish to plate. Pour off oil from skillet. Reduce heat to low. Add balsamic vinegar to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Place fish atop sauce in pan and bake in oven until fish is opaque in center, about 10 minutes. Serve each piece of fish with a generous dollop of the sauce and top with a heaping tablespoon of the gremolata.
Preparation for the Gremolata
Peel the lemon in long strips with a vegetable peeler. Mince the lemon peel. Mix the lemon peel with the chopped parsley and garlic.
Tips and Tidbits
Any fish will work with this dish, just adjust your cooking time for the thickness of the fillet. I served it over skinny roasted garlic mashed potatoes but it would also be excellent with past or couscous. I made all the sauce for the two of us, and froze the leftover for the next time we cook fish.
Maggie Canon is a nationally recognized magazine, website and book editor. She founded InfoWorld magazine and was the editor in chief of several other leading technology publications. She has since focused her career on consumer content including developing and launching the leading lifestyle website Glam.com and producing the best-selling book series America 24/7.
In addition, she was the co-host of HGTV’s 21st Century Home television series. She is an avid traveler, cook and entertainer.
