Due to a hectic week I didn’t have the time to prepare a new post, so I’ve decided to re-post this recipe, from the earlier days of the blog. Many of you probably haven’t seen it, and those who did will hopefully enjoy a reminder for this tasty recipe.
I was fortunate enough to get some beautiful wild Halibut, and got curious about the origin of its name. At least according to Wikipedia “the name is derived from haly (holy) and butt (flat fish), for its popularity on Catholic holy days”. What a combination of the high and the low! Who knew?
Holy or not, I’ve decided to pair the fish with a favorite ingredient of mine – caramelized onions. Unlike in my recipe for chicken with caramelized onions, here the cooking of the fish has to be very short, or it will become dry. So, the solution is to take the time to caramelize the onions and create a nice sauce, and add the fish at the very last stages of cooking. The result is a succulent fish, with a rich sweet-sour sauce.
You can serve a small portion of this dish as an appetizer, or serve a larger portion as an entrée, on a bed of your preferred starch. Here I chose to serve it on plain couscous (check here for instructions on how to prepare the couscous).
Notes:
* Pomegranate molasses and Date syrup are available in many health stores and online. If you can’t get them, substitute with same amounts of aged Balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, or brown sugar.
Makes: 8 appetizer size, 4 entrée size
Prep time: the sauce: 20 minutes, the fish: 10 minutes
Cooking time: the sauce: 45 minutes, the fish: 5-7 minutes
Ingredients:
1.8 lb (800 grams) Wild Halibut
3 medium size vine-ripened tomatoes
6 medium size onions
2 Tbs light olive oil
2 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs pomegranate molasses *
2 Tbs Date syrup *
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme + for serving
¼ cup golden raisins
1. The fish: with a sharp knife, remove the Halibut skin and cut into portions of about 3.5oz (100 grams). Keep in the fridge until ready to cook. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
2. The tomatoes: with a sharp knife, cut an X on each tomato and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for about 1 minute. Drain, let cool a bit and remove the skin. Cut each tomato into quarters. Remove the centers with the seeds and place in a small sieve. Squeeze and keep the juice. Discard skins and centers. Cut into medium cubes.
3. The sauce: peel and half the onions, lengthwise, and slice them with a sharp knife. Pour the oil into a wide pot. Add the onions, 1 tsp of the salt and the pepper. Cook on medium-low heat, mixing occasionally, until the onions soften and start to brown, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, with their strained juice, the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, date syrup, honey and the 1 remaining tsp of salt. Mix and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Add the thyme and raisins. Mix and cook for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquids evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the fish pieces, in one layer, not touching one another. Cover the the pot and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the fish is cooked through but still very moist. Serve immediately, sprinkled with fresh thyme on top.
And here I am with just beans and rice for lunch!
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LOL
There is always tomorrow! 😀
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ברור obviously
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obviously! 🙂
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Wow, looks delicious. Love Halibut, and love your choice of ingredients for the sauce!
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Thank you! Caramelized onions are such a favorite of mine, I keep trying to find ways to use them… 🙂
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Halibut is such a great fish, one that can be prepared any number of ways.Your preparation of it here, with the caramelized onions and tomatoes, sounds wonderful. And date syrup is something entirely new to me. I need to check it out, too. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Thank you. I’m glad you liked the idea. Halibut is indeed a great fish. I usually like to poach it, to keep it moist and lock the flavor in, which is basically what I did here.
Date syrup, sometimes called “Date honey” is a great thing to have in the kitchen. It was introduced in Israel with Jewish refugees from Iraq. They used to make it at home, from strained cooked dates, a pretty lengthy preparation. It quickly became very popular and now there are many types of commercial ones, which are not bad at all. I use the one in the link, but any other would do.
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Getting wild halibut, lucky you. Flavorful way to cook this delightful fish.
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Thank you. I was lucky indeed. It was great. 🙂
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Oh Yum…I use date syrup in some of the recipes too , but the halibut would be a new one.What about the Pomegranate molasses , can I skip it ? Does it alter the dish considerably?
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipe.
The pomegranate syrup adds acidity combined with sweetness, but is not that crucial. You can add the same amount of aged Balsamic vinegar to compensate, or increase the lemon and honey. Change things according to your likings. 🙂
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Seriously yum!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Nice and tasty recipe
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Thank you! 🙂
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Looks delicious!!! 😋😋
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Thank you! 🙂
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I love caramelized onions and I love halibut – so this is the perfect recipe for me (although I have never heard of date syrup before…) Thanks for the recipe.
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Thank you Karin, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It’s my pleasure to share. Date syrup is a wonderful ingredient, that I’m sure you’ll enjoy once you’ll try it. However, if you can’t find it, maple syrup/honey/more pomegranate molasses are good substitutes. 🙂
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Thank you!
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Ronit, Halibut is my favorite fish. This is a very creative and imaginative presentation.
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Thank you Conor, I’m glad you liked the recipe. This way of cooking halibut is one of my favorites. It’s such a great fish.
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Interesting recipe Ronit, love the ingredients u used ✌✌
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Thank you Jyo, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It’s a dish I make often. 🙂
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I always enjoy fish recipes especially if they have a nice sauce with onions and tomatoes. I like the sweetness of the raisins!
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Caramelized onions, tomatoes and raisins is a combination I use often, and it works so nicely with the fish, so I make this dish often. 🙂
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I just came back to print out the recipe – need to find date syrup or can something else be used?
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Glad to know and hope you’ll enjoy it.
As for date syrup, you can substitute with maple syrup, more pomegranate molasses, honey, brown sugar, etc. The flavor will be a bit different, but it’s really not that crucial here.
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love halibuts and nice recipe !
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What an interesting recipe with such lovely middle eastern flavours. We don’t have halibut here. Is it a mild flavoured fish?
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Thank you Marcellina, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Halibut is a fairly mild white fish, with firm texture. Any similar fish can be used instead. 🙂
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I always knew I like the tomato, onion and Raisin combination!!
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Glad to find another fan of this tasty combination! 🙂
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Yes, Feel the same!!!
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I am not a fish fan, but this sauce is simply amazing! Maybe it would be good over chicken!
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Thank you Mollie, I’m glad you liked the dish despite not liking fish! Love the idea of using the sauce with chicken. 🙂
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I keep trying to like it! I have enjoyed red snapper, and I do like Tuna and Salmon. I struggle with others.:) But that sauce is amazing!
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I would love the dish! I have never tried Halibut but tastes like a flounder or sole which I like very much?
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the dish. Flounder or sole can be excellent substitutes. 🙂
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Looks delicious! The sauce sounds amazing!
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Thank you Ursula, I’m glad you liked the dish. It’s one of my favorites and I make it often. 🙂
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