After a day on the water, returning home with a bag full of fresh fish is the ultimate success, but once back on dry land, deciding how to cook your catch is the next challenge. To help with that, we reached out to the chefs at The Ritz Prime Seafood for an easy recipe to take your fish from the sea to the plate.
Recipe courtesy of George Neyra, executive chef at The Ritz Prime Seafood
Pan-Seared Local Halibut with Lentils and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Servings: 4
Halibut
4 six-ounce filets of fresh halibut (or any other firm, white fish)
Salt, to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Season the fish with salt only. In a nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium/high heat until hot, but not smoking. Place the fish in the pan skin side down and cook until golden, about 4 to 6 minutes. Turn fish over and cook until the flesh is just cooked through and is no longer translucent, about 3 more minutes depending on the thickness of your fish. Finish the fish with butter, fresh thyme and lemon juice.
Lentils
1 small onion, diced into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced into small pieces
2 celery stalks, diced into small pieces
2 teaspoons canola oil
½ gallon chicken stock
2 cups water
1 ham hock
2 pounds black lentils
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 ounces Banyuls vinegar
Black pepper, to taste
Kosher and smoked salt, to taste
In a large pot, sweat onion, garlic, carrot and celery in canola oil. Season with salt and keep covered, cooking very low until vegetables are soft and tender. Add chicken stock, water, ham hock and lentils, along with thyme and bay leaf (tied together with string). Bring lentils to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Cook until lentils are very tender, about 1½ hours. Add Banyuls vinegar. Season with black pepper, kosher and smoked salt, to taste.
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
1 cup orange juice
½ cup Meyer lemon juice
2 ounces Champagne vinegar
1 cup grapeseed oil
Salt, to taste
Reduce orange juice over low heat to about ¼ cup and cool to room temperature. Add Champagne vinegar and Meyer lemon juice. Whisk the juice and vinegar and slowly add grapeseed oil, until thick. Season with salt and pepper.
To Plate
Place lentils in center of dinner plate, top with fish and drizzle with Meyer lemon vinaigrette.
Editor’s Note: Read more about a day on the water in our feature story “Hooked on Fishing.”
