Herb Crusted Halibut

My cooking journey from frozen food cook to made from scratch began with one single cookbook: Bountiful. This book, written by a husband and wife blogger duo, has changed my life and approach to food in the most beautiful way. If you were in conversation with my husband he would tell you that it only took 9 years, but I’m a better chef than I’ve ever been. It my mind, this is the best compliment he could ever pay me.

Back to this incredible cookbook. One of the many things I adore about this book is that the photography and the simplicity of the ingredients gave me a confidence for cooking I never had. And the combination of beautiful flavors these ingredients evoke leaves me craving the same recipes over and over.

One of my favorite recipes from Bountiful is the Herb Crusted Salmon and out of a desire to take a small risk and branch out I decided to adapt the recipe ever so slightly and use Halibut instead and then I added a dash of lemon as it cooked and after I plated it because halibut is just that much more delicious when topped with a squeeze of lemon. Since the plates were licked clean, I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you it that this recipe compliments Halibut as well as Salmon, so if you’re a fish connoisseur, I highly recommend switching it up. In the off chance that Diane and Todd have found my blog, I hope you’ll forgive me for adapting your recipe and know that I love it equally as much with Salmon as the focal point.

Let’s cook, shall we:

– 1/2 cup bread crumbs
– 2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon
– 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
– 2 teaspoons of sea salt or kosher salt
– 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
– 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter, melted
– 3 Halibut fillets, rinsed and patted dry

1. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, chopped tarragon, chopped basil, sea salt and pepper. Once mixed, pour in your melted butter and mix well.
2. Spread the mixture so that it covers both sides of the filet evenly.
3. Heat a saute pan over medium heat, then add the Halibut to the pan. Sear for 2-3 minutes, then flip the filets over. Keep an eye on your sauté pan as all burner heat differently so you may need to adjust the sear time with that in mind.
4. Reduce the heat and continue to cook your Halibut for another 2-4 minutes per side, or until you can see that they are done.
5. Serve warm over sautéed asparagus. For my asparagus, I heated a sauté pan, added my asparagus and drizzled extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar topped with salt and pepper. I let them sauté over heat for 6-7 minutes. You can tell they are done when they begin to soften.

The herb crusted halibut was delicious and well worth the risk. This is definitely a recipe you should try at home and if you’re looking for more amazing recipes that will change your life (for the better), be sure to add Bountiful to your collection.

xo, Alissa