Pan Seared Wild Pacific Halibut with Fragrant Jasmine Rice

With halibut season upon us, we thought we would share this deliciously fragrant recipe from our last cooking class at the Gourmet Warehouse. With many folks choosing to serve white fish over the Easter long weekend, this recipe would make a delicious and impressive centre piece for your gatherings with family and friends!

Chef Deniz prepared this amazing recipe featuring our wild Pacific halibut and we hope you will enjoy the jasmine rice with decadent curry sauce that works so well with it.

Tip: the curry sauce can be made 2-3 days ahead and refrigerated until needed.

Ingredients

Halibut:

• 700g Skipper Otto wild halibut – skin off – cut into 6 equal pieces
• 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
• salt and pepper to season

Jasmine Rice:

• 2 cups Jasmine rice
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots – diced fine
• 4 inch stick of cinnamon
• 4 whole star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Orange zest – one 4 inch strip
• pinch of kosher salt

Curry Sauce: (yields/ serves 2 cups)

• 3-4 Tbsp butter
• 2 shallots – peeled and diced finely
• 2 garlic cloves – minced
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 3-4 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 x 14 oz can coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 4 Tbsp chutney
• 3/4 of a chicken stock bouillon cube
• 1 tsp chilli paste (optional)
• cilantro as garnish if desired

Directions

1. Lay the fish on your work surface, and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Heat the frying pan to high heat. Fry the fish for 3 minutes on each side, then transfer to a preheated 375F oven to keep warm. (Note: Sonia suggests not to leave the halibut in the oven any longer than 8-10 minutes at that temperature, in order not to overcook the halibut).
3. Wash the rice in a bowl of cold water, rinse and repeat until the water is clear. Drain and set aside.
4. In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter, add the onion and sauté until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom, and turmeric. Give it a good stir and cover. Keep the heat on low until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the rice to the pot along with 4 cups of water, salt, and the strip of orange peel. Bring to a boil then turn it down to a simmer with the lid on. Continue to simmer about 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
6. For the curry sauce, heat the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the shallot, garlic and ginger. Soften the ingredients but do not brown them.
7. Sprinkle in the curry powder and stir over low heat for 2 minutes.
8. Whisk in the coconut milk until the sauce is smooth.
9. Add the lemon juice, chutney, chicken stock cube, and chili paste (if desired), whisk until combined. Let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes to intensify the flavours.

Plating:

To serve, mound the rice in the centre of the plate, top with a piece of halibut and gently ladle over the curry sauce. Garnish with cilantro leaves if desired.

Servings: 6 people

Recipe shared with us by our friends at Gourmet Warehouse and Chef Deniz Tarakcioglu, from their Pacific Plate: West Coast Seafood Mastery cooking demo.