Seared Halibut With Anchovies, Capers And Garlic
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2tablespoons butter (or more oil)
- 1½ to 2pounds halibut or swordfish steaks
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4anchovy fillets or more to taste
- 1tablespoon or more minced garlic
- 1tablespoon drained capers
- ½cup dry white wine
- 1teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
436 calories; 26 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 592 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat, and leave it there until hot. Add oil and butter together. Butter should sizzle. When butter foam subsides, add fish, and season it lightly with salt and pepper. Brown fish, basting with pan juices, then turn, and brown again. Do not worry about cooking through. Turn off heat, put fish on an ovenproof plate, and place it in oven.
- Step 2
Turn heat under skillet to medium, and add anchovies and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until anchovies break up, just a couple of minutes. Add capers and wine, and turn heat to high. Cook until wine is reduced by half. Return fish and its juices to pan, and turn it in sauce once or twice. Fish should be cooked through by now. (A thin-bladed knife inserted into its thickest part will meet little resistance.)
- Step 3
Taste sauce, add some lemon juice, then taste again. It should be strong-tasting but only mildly acidic. Remove fish to serving plate, spoon sauce on top, and garnish with parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
Delicious.
But wait to add the minced garlic until the anchovies have melted. Otherwise you can end up with bitter, burned garlic.
So simple to make and simply delicious flavors to eat. If you're serving the "anchovy averse" you can leave them out and this is still taste bud tingling. If you are fans of the inexplicable extra zip of anchovies, this is even better with them in. We are particular fans of swordfish prepared this way but halibut too. We double the capers and roughly triple the lemon juice (a full tablespoon).
Made this for the first time last night with frozen swordfish steaks. It was phenomenal! Followed Zeus's recommendation to wait to add garlic and I agree. I put in more garlic, capers, and lemon than called for because I just live on the edge like that. The best thing is this is so easy, I can make it any weeknight.
This is very good with grouper, which is less strong than sword fish, but stronger than halibut, A very good pairing,
In the last sentence in Step 1, it says "turn off heat". Which heat? The oven's, or the stovetop's? I saw a comment below by "turn off oven" and I too got confused. The instruction in this sentence is not very clear.
So delicious. My anchovies never melted, but this turned out amazing. The sauce was so good. I had a nice, fresh piece of halibut, some cheap white wine, and all the rest, and paired this with the One Pan Zucchini Pesto Orzo. It got a little frenzied with the prep but it all worked out.