Baked Halibut With Tomato Caper Sauce

Name: Baked Halibut With Tomato Caper Sauce
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped; 4 plump garlic cloves, minced or mashed in a mortar and pestle; 1/4 cup capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped or mashed with the garlic in a mortar and pestle; 2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice; Salt, preferably kosher salt; freshly ground pepper to taste; Pinch of sugar; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves; 1 tablespoon slivered fresh basil leaves; 1 recipe tomato-caper sauce, above; 6 6-ounce halibut fillets (Choose Pacific halibut over Atlantic halibut. According to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Blue Ocean Institute, Pacific halibut fisheries have been properly managed, but they are overfished in the Atlantic.); Salt, preferably kosher salt; freshly ground pepper; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 6 lemon slices

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(714)
Comments: Read comments

This is a pungent tomato sauce that I learned to make in Provence. It goes well with any type of robust fish.

Featured in: The Seafood Conundrum

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6

For the Tomato Caper Sauce

1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½medium onion, finely chopped
4plump garlic cloves, minced or mashed in a mortar and pestle
¼cup capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped or mashed with the garlic in a mortar and pestle
2pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
Salt, preferably kosher salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1tablespoon slivered fresh basil leaves

For the Baked Halibut

1recipe tomato-caper sauce, above
66-ounce halibut fillets (Choose Pacific halibut over Atlantic halibut. According to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Blue Ocean Institute, Pacific halibut fisheries have been properly managed, but they are overfished in the Atlantic.)
Salt, preferably kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6lemon slices

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

For the Tomato Caper Sauce
1. Step 1
  Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, three to five minutes, and add the garlic and the capers. Cook, stirring, for three to five minutes, until the onion has softened thoroughly and the mixture is fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Stir in the thyme, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot or cold.
2. Step 2
  Make the sauce as directed and keep warm.
3. Step 3
  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough for the fish to lie flat. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and arrange in the baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the fillets, and place a round of lemon on each one. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Bake 15 minutes. Check the fish; if you can cut into it with a fork, it is done. If it doesn’t yield, (halibut fillets tend to be thick can take time to cook), cover and return to the oven for five minutes. Remove from the oven, and check again. Remove the lemon slices from the fish.
4. Step 4
  Place a spoonful of sauce on each plate, and place a piece of fish partially on top. Spoon some of the liquid from the baking dish over the fish. If you wish, top the fish with another spoonful of sauce, garnish with basil leaves and serve.

Tip

Advance preparation: The sauce will keep for about five days in the refrigerator.

Ratings

5 out of 5

714 user ratings

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Comments

Jean7 years ago

One of the best fish dishes I have ever had, thanks to the amazing sauce! I used canned chopped tomatoes. I tripled the fresh thyme leaves (used 1 TBSP instead of 1 tsp), using English thyme from my garden. We used the plump Greek capers, and we did mash the capers and garlic together with mortar and pestle. Next time we may add a little chopped olive.....

Kris7 years ago

This was delicious! I seared the halibut first in a cast iron pan, topped it with the sauce and baked at 450 for 10 min. Perfecto!!

Janet7 years ago

Great recipe, will definitely make it again. I made two adjustments: 1) I cooked the sauce longer to further reduce the acidity of canned tomatoes; and 2) having read the comment below about the surface of the cooked fish, I put sauce on top of the fish before cooking it. The result looked beautiful, and the sauce flavor seeped in but did not overwhelm the fish flavor.

L T4 weeks ago

One of my fav authors. I did triple the fresh thyme and used dried basil for convenience. I only cooked 2 filets of halibut but made the full amount of sauce. I will make two more meals for 2 and use the leftover sauce. I love that the fish is covered in the oven and I put the fish on parchment paper for easy cleanup. This is a great dish for company since all does not have to be done at once. I plan to try the sauce with chicken breasts. The comment to add chopped olives is interesting.

Marie1 month ago

Simple and delicious.

connie1 month ago

Wondering if anyone has tried this with sea bass? Or other types of fish?

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