Halibut Roasted on a Bed of Leeks with Citrus Chive Butter
serves 2
Halibut With Compound Butter (Click To Zoom)
This recipe is elegant but also quick and easy to prepare on a weeknight. A beautifully simple roasted piece of halibut with spring leeks is delicious on it’s own, however the little bit of effort to make the citrus chive butter is well worth it. The bright orange flavor and fresh chive really take the sweet flavor of the halibut up a notch. Open up the windows, pour a glass of wine, and enjoy this lovely spring supper.
Citrus Chive Butter
This recipe is for two people, so I just eyeball the amount of herbs and tangelo zest with the aim of getting a nice visual impact from the orange and green color. A cross between tangerine and pomelo, Tangelo is a citrus fruit with the deepest orange color and easy to peel skin. I think tangelos have the most intense orange flavor, and their juice is so delicious.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter**, room temperature
zest of 1 tangelo, the oranges with a little knob at the stem
a handful of fresh chive
Make compound butter by grating the zest of 1 tangelo atop the butter in a small bowl. Use scissors to snip chive into the butter and mix all together with a spatula. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the halibut.
**Use best quality butter for this recipe, salted or unsalted is fine. If you choose unsalted butter, you may want to add a pinch of salt to this mixture for flavor.
Halibut Roasted on a Bed of Leeks
I like to use a little Emile Henry ceramic dish for each person’s portion. This it’s a nice presentation and easy clean up by using one dish from oven to table.
Ingredients
1 bunch baby leeks, split lengthwise and rinsed of all grit
about a tablespoon melted unsalted butter
extra virgin olive oil
2 portions of halibut fillet, 1/3 pound each
juice from 1 tangelo
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Fill the bottom of each ceramic dish with leeks, drizzle with olive oil and melted butter. Roast the leeks for 15 minutes. Remove the leeks from the oven and place each piece of halibut atop its own bed of leeks, drizzle with tangelo juice and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the halibut is cooked through and flakes with a fork. Remove halibut from oven and serve immediately with citrus chive butter on top.