Halibut Cheeks with Saffron Tomato Sauce
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
25 mins
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Total Time
45 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
330 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Appetizer, Lunch
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Cuisine
American
Halibut Cheeks with Saffron Tomato Sauce
Description
Halibut Cheeks with Saffron Tomato Sauce highlights the mild sweetness and tender texture of halibut cheeks, seasoned lightly with salt and optional lemon juice to enhance their natural flavor. The saffron tomato sauce is prepared by slowly sautéing minced onions and garlic until translucent, then deglazing with vermouth and simmering with fire-roasted tomato puree, saffron, and cayenne pepper. This sauce balances aromatic saffron and a subtle kick from cayenne with a smooth tomato base. The gentle simmering creates a sauce that coats the delicate fish beautifully.
The dish is ideally paired with creamy grits or polenta, which help soak up the vibrant sauce and provide a comforting base. The combination delivers contrasting textures: the soft fish, the velvety sauce, and the creamy starch, making it a balanced meal option that brings out each component’s flavor.
While preparing the sauce, polenta or grits can be cooked simultaneously for a convenient meal timing. The sauce’s consistency can be adjusted to preference—thinner to accompany grits or thicker for other uses. The recipe’s method ensures the fish remains tender, and the sauce's flavors develop fully without overpowering the halibut cheeks.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fish cheeks
- salt
- lemon juice (optional)
- 3 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed or other high smoke point oil
SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion minced, small, yellow or white
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup vermouth
- saffron a big pinch
- 2 cups tomato puree or regular tomato puree, fire-roasted
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt
- 3 tablespoons parsley minced
Instructions
- Salt the halibut cheeks and set them aside on a cutting board or plate. If you want, squeeze some lemon juice over them.
- This would be the moment you'd made polenta, grits or boil the water for pasta. If you are making polenta, you can make it while the sauce is cooking. When it's ready, just put a lid on the pot you cooked the polenta in and set it over low heat on a weak burner. It will be fine.
- Make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. When it's hot, add the onion and sauté until completely translucent, with a little browning around the edges. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Pour in the vermouth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Crumble the saffron into the pan. Let this come to a boil, then add the tomato puree and cayenne. Stir well and taste for salt, adding if needed. Let this simmer until it is the consistency you want. I like this dish over grits or polenta, so I want the sauce a touch thinner than a regular spaghetti sauce. Once it's there, sprinkle the parsley on top and turn the heat to very low.
- Get another pan hot, then add the oil. Pat the halibut cheeks dry as the oil warms. When it's hot, as in when you can see the slightest wisp of smoke, set the cheeks flat side down in the pan -- this is the side that used to have skin on it. The moment you set them in the pan, give the pan a little jiggle so they don't fuse to the metal.
- Let the cheeks sear this way for 2 to 3 minutes. While this is happening, spoon the hot oil over the surface of the cheeks until they are opaque. At some point around 2 to 3 minutes, use a spatula to try to lift the cheeks off the pan. If they come free, they are ready. If they are horribly stuck, give them another minute. If somewhere in between, it's your call: Leave them longer and have slightly overdone fish with a pretty crust, or use the spatula to forcibly remove them and have a marred crust but tastier meat.
- Either way, give the sauce a stir and spoon some in everyone's bowls with the starch of your choice. Top with the cheeks.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 330 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 330kcal | 17% |
| Carbohydrates | 16g | 5% |
| Protein | 19g | 38% |
| Fat | 20g | 31% |
| Saturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Cholesterol | 28mg | 9% |
| Sodium | 60mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 1097mg | 23% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 8g | 16% |
| Vitamin A | 1071IU | 21% |
| Vitamin C | 22mg | 24% |
| Calcium | 46mg | 5% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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