Recipe: Braised Halibut in Tomato-Garlic Nage (in a broth-like sauce)

BRAISED HALIBUT IN TOMATO-GARLIC NAGE

"Halibut lends itself to inspired dishes and to simple preparations. Its lean flesh is firm yet tender when properly cooked. It has a mild but distinctive, slightly sweet flavor and nice, large flakes. There are Atlantic and Pacific halibut. Those from Pacific waters are considered the best. Over 90 percent of them are line-caught, wild fish whose capture is carefully regulated to insure continuing survival. Related to the comparatively diminutive flounder and all the other flat fishes, specimens can weigh up to 700 pounds, though most halibut sent to market ranges from 10 to 200 pounds.

Fresh halibut is pearly white and glistens. Frozen halibut should look bright white, not milky or yellowish. Fresh halibut comes to market from March to November, while frozen fish is available year-round. Most halibut is sold as steaks, but you can also ask your fishmonger to cut filets for you.

A nage is a broth-like liquid, with a consistency somewhere between a broth and a light sauce."

1 head garlic, separated into cloves
4 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped, 5-6 cups
1 cup vegetable broth, divided use
1 large shallot, fully chopped, 2 tablespoons
1 pound halibut fillet, cut in 4 pieces, or 2 steaks, about 1 1/4 pounds, each cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut in 1/2-inch dice
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the unpeeled garlic cloves in half crosswise. Combine them with the tomatoes in a deep, heavy saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth and cook 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are quite soft and the garlic can be mashed with the back of a spoon.

Press the tomatoes and garlic through a sieve, collecting the liquid and pulp in a medium bowl. There will be about 2 cups. Set aside.

In a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish in 1 layer, sprinkle the shallots over the bottom. Cover with the fish. Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and cover the dish with foil.

Bake the halibut in the center of the oven until it is just opaque in the center, 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, set out 4 broad, shallow soup plates. Heat the tomato liquid and the vinegar in a medium saucepan. When bubbles form around the edge of the liquid, reduce the heat to low. Whisk the butter into the hot liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the liquid among the 4 plates.

When the fish is done, set one piece in the center of each plate. Garnish by arranging 2 tablespoons of diced tomato in the nage. Sprinkle the parsley over the nage, and serve.

Each of the four servings contains 256 calories and 8 grams of fat.

Adapted from source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research