Seared Halibut with Romesco Sauce
This seared halibut recipe is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk, my very favorite almond milk.
Let it be known to the world that I finally made halibut without overcooking it.
Seared Halibut
In the past, I’ve always baked it, and it’s always come out of the oven like a chewy white fish eraser. We’d smother it in some kind of sauce, take 500 chews to swallow, and it would be bearable. I finally figured out the secret: do not bake, pan sear.
I picked up some gorgeous wild halibut from Whole Foods,
seasoned it well with salt and pepper, and then pan-seared on medium high in olive oil, skin side up, for 3-4 minutes. I flipped, said a prayer, squeezed some lemon juice on top and cooked for another 3-4 minutes until it started to flake. This is the only way I’m cooking white fish from now on.
Romesco Sauce
While the halibut would have been delightful on its own, what took it over the top was this fresh Romesco sauce, using a secret ingredient:
Romesco sauce originated in Northeastern Spain, and the fisherman of the area made it to enjoy with fish. There are quite a few variations of the recipe, but a few staples that it needs to include: roasted red peppers (and/or tomato), almonds, vinegar, lots of garlic. The sauce is thick like an aioli or mayo, and very savory; it’s perfect for fish, sandwich spreads, vegetables, or dipping.
I blended it up in the food processor (until it exploded. whoops.) and then transferred the mixture to the blender for a creamy, savory sauce.
Next, I plated it up,
added the fish, and topped with a lemon wedge and almond-herb crumble. It was INSANE.
This is a perfect healthy and light summer dinner, packed with protein, healthy fats, fiber, citrus and savory flavors. It would also be great for a dinner party; just make the Romesco sauce and crumble in advance, then quickly sear the fish before serving.
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try!
Seared halibut with Romesco sauce
A fresh and delicious dinner option. Save the leftover Romesco to enjoy on a sandwich, as a dip, or with vegetables!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
For the Romesco sauce
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 2 roasted red bell peppers (about 1 cup. Use the jarred vinegar ones, or those found in the antipasto section of the grocery store)
- 1 beefsteak tomato, seeded
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup Almond Breeze Almondmilk Original
- Splash of olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
For the halibut
- 2 servings of halibut
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh lemon juice
For the almond-herb crumble
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 cup parsley
- Lemon slices for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a blender or large food processor, blend the Romesco sauce ingredients until smooth. Add salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a bowl, and if serving immediately, add some to your plates for serving. (I used a silicone basting brush to spread the sauce across the plate.)
- 2. Make the crumble. Wash out the food processor, and add the almonds, cilantro and parsley. Pulse until chopped, and reserve in a small bowl. Slice a lemon for serving.
- 3. Preheat a large saute pan to medium-high and add a drizzle of olive oil. Season the halibut well with salt and pepper. When the olive oil begins to bubble and move, add the fish, skin side up, to the pan. Sear for 3-4 minutes before flipping. Squeeze lemon juice on top, and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side, until fish begins to flake.
- 4. Place the fish on top of the sauce, add a lemon slice or two, and some almond-herb crumble. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
Are there any recipes you’ve always had a hard time making? Favorite fish dish? One of my all-time faves is our maple-orange salmon.
Hope you have a great morning!
xoxo
Gina
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk. Thank you for supporting this blog and the companies who support our family. <3
Here are some past recipe creations I’ve made in collaboration with them:
Dark chocolate almondmilk truffles
Gluten-free vegan banana pudding
33 Comments
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Yum! This dish looks amazing. Can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
Drooling.
Favorite fish is pistachio pesto crusted cod. Drooling again.
ahhhh! i need to try that
Yum! I’m definitely going to try this. Baking fish is always a struggle–I never know if it’s going be underdone or overdone. It does not help that I have a terrible oven, which leaves anything baked up to chance (stupid NYC apartment).
Looks amazing and sounds good. Can’t wait to try this. I discovered I like searing fish better than baking too. Well, unless I can get it outside on the grill. Then I love grilling it.
totally agree! grilled always tastes the best 🙂
Yum! I love how you plated the food!
thank you!
I love fish so I’ll be trying this recipe out sometime soon!
One recipe my husband and I are still trying to prefect is creme brulee. First batch didn’t set, 2nd batch set a lot better but was still quite liquidy. Now I think we have a better idea on our trouble so we’ll try again sometime soon and hope for success 🙂
hope it turns out for you soon! that’s definitely a tricky one
This is a great idea. I love halibut, but my husband and I always a hard time making it. As you said it comes out chewy.
This recipe is awesome for a nice healthy dinner with friends, or just for us. It looks very yummy, I will definitely try it.
I like the prayer ingredient you used, probably is what make it so delicious. (Lol)
The only thing I would change is the lemon; I rather use lime, lots of it.
thank you! let me know how it turns out 🙂
Yum! I make cod all the time. I’m totally making this.
oh, i need to try making cod again now that i know not to bake it haha!
This looks delicious!! I never thought about using almond milk to make romesco. Good idea!
I was not able to eat fish at all when I was pregnant until the very end so I admire you for being able to.
I love Blue Diamond Almond Milk. I’ve been smuggling it into Brazil. Don’t tell.
haha i’m not saying anything!
“Chewy white fish eraser”…..Hahahaaa!
I shouldn’t laugh though b/c that’s ALWAYS what fish tastes like when I cook it. 🙂
hahah! white fish is SO easy to overcook because when it looks “done” it’s too late
Great use of almond milk here! We love Blue Diamond – we have all of their products in our app! Have you tried their new Reduced Sugar Vanilla?
no! i will be on the lookout 🙂
That’s a beautiful plate!
thank you!!
I can’t wait to try this! I have the same problem when I bake white fish too 🙂 looks delicious!
thank you! let me know if you give it a try 🙂
That dish looks so pretty! I’m a pretty decent cook, but I can not, for the life of me, poach a damn egg.
Looks so good! and plated so fancy! Feels very ‘Chopped’!
“Fish erasers” are so sad, I am glad you had better luck this time around!
Beautiful plating and delicious sounding recipe, thanks for sharing.
This looks AMAZING!! I have a daughter, a little younger than liv, may I ask if she eats this? We try to have our children (2 1/2 & 1 1/2) eat what we are eating but have been having a hard time with “different'” foods. Any ideas or input on this topic would be appreciated 🙂 As always, thanks for your input!
yep! everything we eat, we offer to her, too. since i wasn’t sure if she’d love it because the sauce is very garlicky, so i also gave her some chicken drumstick that was leftover from the night before as protein. i think even if you eat something different, it’s good to offer it to them; sometimes they’ll surprise you, like when she was digging for my mussels that one night at seafood haha
OMGOMG! So I literally have been eating sea bass everyday because of my bikini competition and always say OMG this is so nasty and so hard to chew and I feel like I am chewing on rubber thank Goodness you posted this I AM ON IT! xo C
haha hope it helps!!
Made this for dinner last night, and it was DELISH! Obsessed with that sauce.
so happy you liked it! 🙂