Healthy and easy pan seared halibut fillets in a lemon garlic white wine sauce, with heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.
A riff on my garlic chicken in white wine sauce, only this is done in 15 minutes, on the stovetop in my cast iron skillet.
Goes well with steamed asparagus, capellini noodles, over a smooth green pea puree or a creamy saffron risotto.
It is very important to bring the fish to room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking it in a seasoned cast iron skillet, so it won’t stick.
Don’t walk away from the pan!
Fish cooks super fast so watch it like a hawk. A couple of minutes max on each side is all it needs. Make sure to remove it from the pan while still a little opaque in the center.
Then in the same pan, we make a quick sauce with garlic and juicy tomatoes, a crisp white wine and lots of zesty lemon.
You could also use the same recipe to make this dish with cod, shrimp, lobster tails, clams, mussels or scallops.
Healthy and easy pan seared halibut fillets in a lemon garlic white wine sauce, with heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.
- 4 x 6 oz halibut or cod fish fillets
- 1/2 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes( halved or sliced)
- 1/3 c dry white wine
- 4-5 cloves garlic (grated)
- 1 lemon
- 2 pinches sea salt or to taste
- black pepper to taste (freshly cracked)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 c fresh basil leaves (thinly sliced)
Bring the fish to room temperature for 20 minutes and pat dry all over with paper towels.
Season well on both sides with a good pinch of sea salt and the freshly cracked black pepper.
Heat up one tablespoon of the olive oil in a cast iron skillet on medium flame.
Gently place the fish in the pan and sear for about 2 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Use a spatula to carefully flip them without breaking. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and stir in the grated garlic. cook for about 15 seconds taking good care not to let it burn. Stir in the tomatoes and a pinch of salt then hit it with the white wine.
Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes until the tomatoes burst and release their juices.
Transfer the cooked fish back into the pan and just heat through for another minute or so.
Remove from heat and hit it with a good squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and garnished with the fresh basil.
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Bryan
February 27, 2017 at 8:44 amIt’s delicious
Brenda Higgins
March 1, 2017 at 3:20 pmAm missing something? I don’t see the garlic mentioned in the ingredients, just in the title and directions .
Florentina
March 2, 2017 at 12:05 pmHi Brenda, you need about 4 cloves of garlic depending on your taste. Maybe there was a glitch in the recipe plugin, I can see all the ingredients. Let me know If you are still having trouble ~ Florentina
2pots2cook
March 2, 2017 at 12:47 amI’m in. Thank you !
Darcy
June 28, 2017 at 10:27 amThis was excellent, I added scallops and shrimp. It was so good we had it two nights in a row but with cod the second dinner. Still amazing!
Florentina
June 28, 2017 at 3:43 pmWoohoo! I’m so happy to hear, this is such an easy dinner to throw together!
Karen
September 9, 2017 at 7:33 pmMade this with fresh caught Alaskan Halibut after my husband returned home from his fishing trip. Absolutely delicious! I forgot the Basil while grocery shopping, but I didn’t miss it in the recipe. . Served it over quinoa and with a side of grilled asparagus. Thank you for such an easy, delicious meal, which was equally as good as leftovers.
Florentina
September 10, 2017 at 4:49 pmYou are very welcome Karen! Thanks for taking the time to post your sweet comment 🙂
Annette Keilhau
November 4, 2017 at 4:23 pmWow! This was amazing!!! I totally skipped first step. I had prepared my garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper, and onion. Sautéed and then added the wine, I nestled the fish in the mixture n put it right into the oven to poach. Oh! And I added the basil n fresh savoury. Flavours were amazing!!! Will make this a def. repeat! Thanks Florentina for the recipe boost! Always trying to find something new to cook! I am a new owner of my first cast iron! I LOVE it! Cheers!
Julia
February 20, 2018 at 4:49 pmThis is INCREDIBLE! Only “changes” I made was I used cod, that’s what I had, & also let the tomatoes, garlic & basil marinate in the olive oil for a few hours & just added them all @ once to the pan. Both my husband & I literally licked our plates clean!
Pat
March 8, 2018 at 3:06 pmI made this recipe tonight for dinner and I used cod it was very good I did put some Parmesan cheese to it