Oven-Roasted Rosemary Halibut with Fresh Tomato-Zucchini Sauce

For a beautiful and delicious, company-worthy but family-friendly dinner, this recipe is easy and quick to prepare and serve with its puttanesca-like flavors. I like it on a bed of either parsley rice or white beans, but you could serve it on quinoa, pasta, mashed potatoes, or all by itself with some crusty bread to sop up the fragrant sauce. If you are making rice, etc., begin that first as the sauce and fish are quick. That said, the sauce could be cooked earlier in the day (or the day before), then cooled and stored in the fridge. Just reheat gently it while the fish roasts in the oven. Two very hungry people might eat all of this, but served on rice, etc., it should feed 3 -- or perhaps even four smaller appetites.

2-3 servings

Ingredients

SAUCE:

1 tablespoon EACH salted butter and olive oil
Pinch crushed red pepper
¼ cup chopped red onion (You’ll use the rest for the fish.)
3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 small zucchini, cut into medium dice
¼ fresh lemon (You'll use the rest for the fish.)
6-8 Roma tomatoes –about a pound, chopped (or a 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes)
¼ teaspoon EACH kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Pinch granulated sugar
½ cup sliced kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (You’ll need more for garnish.)

HALIBUT:

1 - 1 1/4 pound halibut fillet, skinned and patted dry with paper towels
Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 lemon, sliced
½ small red onion, cut into large dice
6 small sprigs fresh rosemary (sub several pinches of dry rosemary)

FOR SERVING:

Hot rice with parsley, mashed potatoes, white beans with rosemary, etc.-- optional
Chopped or torn fresh basil/don't chop if small leaves (sub grated Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set rack at center. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
MAKE THE TOMATO-ZUCCHINI SAUCE: Heat medium saucepan or skillet over medium high flame and add the crushed red pepper, cooking for 30 seconds. Tip in the onion and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Add whole garlic cloves, zucchini, and lemon. Cook another 5-6 minutes until zucchini is softening. Stir in tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are all tender, adding olives and basil for the last minute or so. If using fresh tomatoes, add a little water if sauce is drying before it's done. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover to keep warm while you cook the fish.
ROAST THE HALIBUT: Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil down the center of the lined pan about the shape of the fish fillet. Place three slices of lemon evenly spaced down the center of the oil silhouette and top each with a little chopped onion and a sprig of rosemary. Add the fish and drizzle it with another tablespoon or two of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top the fish with another 3 slices lemon, some onion, and another sprig of rosemary. Roast 10-15 minutes or until barely opaque, but moist. Begin checking for doneness at 10 min. If an end of the fillet is done before the center, you can carve that and plate it, returning the remainder to the oven for a few more minutes. (See blog under TIPS for how to know when fish is done.)
SERVING: Divide the fish, lemon slices, onions, and rosemary sprigs among 3-4 plates or dinner bowls (on rice, etc., if using) and top with a scoop of tomato sauce. Garnish with a small handful of basil leaves. Grind a little pepper over all and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Whoever gets the lemon in the tomato sauce does the dishes. Store leftovers well wrapped in the refrigerator for a day. Do not freeze.

Notes

COOK’S NOTES: If you’d like this for a larger group, double the recipe and cook both pans of fish at once, rotating them both front to back and switching shelves halfway through the roasting time.

If you have no olives, some capers might be a good substitution – or even a splash of red wine vinegar once the sauce is off the heat.