Top Chef Winner Kristen Kish's Halibut

Here's a dish to make any meal a special occasion. The recipe from the book Kristen Kish Cooking, Recipes and Techniques is amazingly easy to prepare with huge payoffs in taste and sophistication.

I'm no martyr in the kitchen. Most high-end chef recipes are way above my cooking level, and take too long to prepare. But I had been thinking about making halibut, and this book was staring at me on the New Book shelf at the library. Synchronicity? I think so.

You can finish the halibut with her special ham hock sauce, but I was happy with just the fish. It's one of those dishes that brings "mmmm's" when you take your first bite - just as if a professional chef had made it for you!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4.5 Persimmons


Ingredients:

For the Brine:

1 quart water
1/4 kosher salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 garlic clove smashed and peeled
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander or fennel seeds

For the Halibut:

4 oz. halibut per serving (up to 16 oz.), from the center (meaty) portion of the fish
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Optional Toppings: Green part of scallions sliced on the diagonal, radishes sliced on a mandolin, herbs of choice.

Directions:

For the Brine:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt, thyme, garlic, peppercorns, and seeds. Heat to a boil, and cook for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the brine to a bowl large enough to later hold all the fish, cover, and place in the fridge to cool for about 1 hour.

2. When the brine has fully cooled, nestle the fish pieces in the brine, cover the bowl, and marinate for 4 hours. When ready to cook, remove the fish, and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine.

For the Halibut:

OXO Fish Flipper*

3. In a large cast iron frying pan, heat the grapeseed oil until it starts to smoke. Turn the heat down to medium high and add the fish skin side down. Sear until golden-brown, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip the fish, and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Add the thyme sprigs and butter to the pan, and spoon them over the fish repeatedly. When the fish is cooked through (has just started becoming opaque) and measures about 145 on an instant meat thermometer, move the fish pieces from the pan to serving plates.

5. Add toppings of choice, and enjoy!

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*OXO Good Grips Fish Flipper link here.

My Paleo Marin Rating 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.