Scallion-Oil Fish
Published Oct. 18, 2024

- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Coarse kosher salt
- 8ounces white fish fillets, such as cod, halibut, black sea bass, haddock, flounder, tilapia and lemon sole
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1bunch scallions, thinly sliced crosswise (1 heaping cup)
- Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)
- Crusty bread, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Sprinkle a heaping ¼ teaspoon kosher salt over the fish fillets and refrigerate, uncovered, to brine and air dry a little, about 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, add the olive oil and sliced scallions to a small cold skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the scallions are dark green and some are brown, anywhere from 7 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat but keep the skillet on the burner.
- Step 3
Gently and immediately add the fish to the skillet, cutting into two or three pieces to fit as needed. Spoon some of the hot oil over the fish. Leave the fish to cook in the residual heat on the first side, 1 to 3 minutes, then flip and cover with the fried scallions and let cook on the second side until the insides are no longer translucent, 1 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the flaky sea salt, if using.
- Step 4
Serve the fish immediately, directly from its pan if desired, with the bread to dip into the flavorful scallion oil.
Private Notes
Comments
The scallion oil is delicious, but this cooking method as written will only work for thin fish fillets. I tried this on some beautiful 1” thick halibut pieces and they were completely raw in the center. Easy enough to fix by turning the heat back on, but in the future I will choose much thinner pieces of fish.
Bake a potato so it’s ready when fish is ready Pour a little of the fish scallion oil into the potato Divine
Hey William, great question- When cooking this recipe w/ induction, I might still turn off the stove and let the residual heat from the hot oil gently poach your fish. If they're thin fillets, they'll cook in 2 or so minutes; the thicker ones need a little longer. Check the insides before eating and see that they're opaque. Worst case scenario, just heat the fish to temp over low. The key to this recipe is slow, gentle heat, more confit than fry. Eric
I used flounder fillets and my Dutch oven to maximize heat retention, and the fish poached beautifully. Still, it ended up a bit bland for my taste. Next time, I’ll use more than 1/4 teaspoon salt for the brine, add a little garlic midway through cooking the scallions to boost savoriness without overshadowing them, and finish with a squeeze of lemon on top.
Made this with ono. It was perfectly cooked and we couldn’t get enough of the scallion oil. Made purple sweet potato cakes (since I had leftover mashed), and added some avocado slices and a slice of sourdough to our plates. This make become my “go to” recipe for ono. It’d be great with rice and a salad too.
Super-easy and delicious. Scallion oil adds a sweetness that is lovely with the delicate fish. And it really is this fast to make.