Friday, August 29, 2008

Halibut and Pancetta in Lemon-Caper Sauce



I rarely follow a recipe to the letter but this was one that sounded so good that I felt that I could use it as is. Tyler Florence is one of my favorite Food Network hosts. His food is simple, flavorful and unapologetically straight-forward. I've tried many of his recipes and they've always come out well. The halibut I bought for dinner tonight was NOT cheap ($22.99/lb!) so I definitely did not want to mess it up. Tyler's recipes (naks, first name basis) are always easy to follow and extremely doable so I was optimistic things would go well.

4 halibut fillets (about 200-250g each) -- I actually used 5 since there were 5 of us
1 cup flour
salt
pepper
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup white wine
juice from one lemon
4 tbsp. chopped parsley
4 tsp. drained capers
8 slices pancetta, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix salt, pepper and flour in a shallow bowl.
3. Dredge halibut fillets in seasoned flour.
4. In an oven-proof skillet (I used enameled cast iron), heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the fish skin side up for 2-3 minutes.
5. Flip fish over and add pancetta pieces.
6. Place skillet in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Remove fish and pancetta from pan, add butter and deglaze pan with white wine.
8. Add lemon juice, capers and parsley. Adjust seasoning.
9. Reduce sauce to about half.
10. To serve, place pancetta pieces on top of fish and pour a few tablespoons of sauce on top. Garnish with fresh parsley.

I served the fish on top of some cauliflower puree. On the side we had haricots verts in brown butter and rosemary-garlic potatoes. I thought the dinner was a success. Everyone at the table seemed to really like to food! Thanks Tyler!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is a definite must try recipe... thanks for sharing... :)

TK said...

trying this tonight. sounds great!

Halibut said...

Healthy