Edinburgh Evening News 56 - Pan Roasted Halibut with Dill Jelly

As the summer days have well and truly arrived, I am sharing another light fish recipe. Halibut would have to be one of my favourite fish. It is highly esteemed and very tasty, with creamy white, firm meaty flesh. The freezing cold waters off the coast of Scotland are the perfect environment for halibut.

Although at first glance this recipe may look complex and long, it can be simplified by preparing the vegetables and jelly the day before. You can pick and choose which elements you would like to serve and even get creative with alternative vegetables if you have anything else to hand. At the restaurant we salt bake the beetroot but for ease at home simply wrap it in tinfoil and bake in the oven.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the jelly:

1 pint good quality fish stock

4 leaves gelatine, soaked in cold water

2 tbsp chopped dill

For the vegetables:

1 golden beetroot

1/2 cauliflower

A handful of green and purple kale, picked and washed

40g butter

For the halibut:

4 x 180g halibut fillet

Drizzle of rapeseed oil

30g butter

1/2 lemon, juiced

Sea salt

Chopped chives

Method

For the Jelly:

• Warm the fish stock

• Melt the gelatine into the stock

• Add the dill

• Pour onto a clingfilm lined tray in a thin layer

• Set in the fridge for 2 hours

• Cut out 4 circles as per the image or get creative and cut out whatever shape you like

For the beetroot:

• Wrap the beetroot in tinfoil

• Bake for 1 ½ hours at 180C

• Peel and dice the beetroot

• Keep warm until you are ready to plate up

For the cauliflower:

• Break the cauliflower into tiny florets

• Reserve 6 of these florets for each plate

• Slice the remaining florets very thinly allowing 6 slices per plate

• Reserve the slices in iced water

• Melt 20g of butter to a nut brown colour

• Add the whole cauliflower florets

• Cook for a minute until golden brown

For the kale:

• Sweat down the kale in 20g of butter for 30 seconds

For the halibut:

• Heat up a non-stick pan until almost smoking hot

• Add a drizzle of rapeseed oil

• Place the halibut in the pan and turn down the heat

• Cook the fish slowly until it is cooked halfway up the fish

• Add a sprinkle of salt, the butter and lemon juice

• Take the pan off the heat, turn the fish over and allow it to finish cooking in the residual heat

To serve:

• Place a dill jelly circle on each plate

• Add 6 cauliflower florets, 6 slices of raw cauliflower, beetroot and kale to each circle

• Place the halibut in the centre of each plate

• Top the fish with chopped chives

At the restaurant we also garnish the plates with cauliflower purée.