Another beautiful dish, both to look at and eat! It’s quick, easy and perfect for a weeknight meal.
OK, the last post was incredibly long and took me most of the day to compose – almost as long to prepare and cook. 😮 As a result, it didn’t get published until this morning. In the meantime, in an effort to catch up, I’m posting two recipes today. This post won’t be nearly as long. Also, this recipe isn’t complicated, has a ton of flavor, makes a beautiful presentation and takes less than 30 minutes to make. It’s really hard to beat a recipe like this one.
As I have mentioned previously, Baby Lady loves halibut. It’s probably her favorite fish. So, when I was at the market they had just received a batch of fresh, wild Alaskan halibut. As such, I had to buy it. Once I bought it I had to decide what to do with it. The garden swiss chard is doing beautifully given the nice, cool climate we have been having. Ergo, swiss chard had to be included in the meal. Still, I had yet to figure out how to prepare the dinner. It was beautiful outside. In fact, it was clear, beautiful blue skies, 83 F and a perfect grilling day. Also, halibut is such a mild fish and I didn’t want anything overpowering. I then remembered that beautiful Grilled Swordfish with Orange Ginger Swiss Chard we had prepared last June and it got me to thinking along those lines. Instead of orange, however, I wanted more of a Thai flavor. So a light Thai based sauce was in order. Now, in making a Thai dipping sauce, in essence what this is, you must bear in mind Thai dipping sauce recipes include savory, sweet, salty and spicy notes. The base is usually soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar or a combination of them. Herbs, spices and seasonings are the next thing you need to consider. Traditional Thai dipping sauce recipes may contain lemongrass, ginger, garlic, chives, and hot pepper flakes. A sweet sauce might contain ginger, lemongrass, and a sweetener (typically sugar or honey – more often sugar) mixed with rice vinegar and a little soy sauce. A more savory recipe might contain a base of fish sauce and soy sauce mixed with garlic, hot pepper flakes, and chives. Also, while dried or powdered herbs may be used, as with most cooking, fresh ingredients tend to provide an essence of freshness and greater depth of flavor. Remember, however, that fresh herbs ore fully infuse into the liquid the longer they sit. Pick and play to see what you like. It’s what we do. 🙂
So, this is what we did and it is absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 5 Tbsp Honey
- 5 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
For the Pickled Red Pepper
- 1 small red pepper, peeled and julienned
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- pinch salt
For the Swiss Chard
- 6 cups homegrown, fresh swiss chard
- 1/2 red onion, rough chop
- 1 Tbsp good olive oil
For the Halibut
- 1 halibut filet, 1.5 lbs
- 3 Tbsp oil, divided
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Instruction
First make the sauce. Add the honey to a bowl.
Add the fish sauce
the ginger
add the lime juice
the garlic
water
jalapeños
whisk to incorporate and set aside until needed and to allow flavors to develop.
For the Pickled Red Pepper
Add honey to bowl – notice the precise measurement – 😉
Now add the vinegar
now, the water
add a pinch of sea salt
Whisk to incorporate and add the julienned red peppers. Set aside to pickle until ready to serve.
For the Swiss Chard.
Add oil to a chef’s pan over medium high and then add the onions.
Sauté for 2 minutes until becoming translucent. Now add the stems from the swiss chard. The stems take longer to cook than the leaves but have great flavor so we cook them at the same time as the onions.
Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes over medium high heat. Now, reduce heat to medium and add the chopped swiss chard leaves.
Cook over medium heat until they begin to wilt. Add 2-1/2 Tbsp of the Thai sauce.
Toss, cover and set in the back of the oven where warm.
For the Halibut.
Oil the halibut – it helps to keep the seasoning on the fish and prevents the halibut from sticking to the grill cage.
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Because Baby Lady loves to kick things up a notch, add some crushed red pepper flakes,
Place in grill cage and put on grill over medium/medium-high heat.
Cook approximately 4 – 5 minutes depending upon thickness and turn.
Remove from grill, tent with foil and let rest while you assemble the meal.
To Assemble.
Quickly reheat the swiss chard. Get a ring mold and place a ring of spinach in the center of a plate. Alternatively, place a mound of swiss chard on the plate.
Cut the fish into 3 equal slices. Place a slice of fish on top of the swiss chard.
Place the pickled red peppers on top of the fish
Spoon some of the Thai sauce over the fish, roughly 1 Tbsp.
Finish with a drizzle of blood orange olive oil.
Serve & enjoy!
REMCooks 
Love that plating!
Thanks, Liza. Getting cool in BA yet?
Un poquito! Luckily the sky is sunny, but still warm enough for shorts and sandals!
YUM! I love grilled halibut…looking forward to grilling season! I hope you got our last snow of the season this past Friday since I am really ready for warmer weather!
We’ve had a real yo-yo weather experience this year. We get into the 80s and then the next day we’re back down into the 40s, 50s and sometimes the 30s. When I fixed this dish it was 83 F. When we got up the next morning it was 48 F; that’s a 35 F temperature drop. 😮 I just hope we don’t start hitting 100 F for a while. We know it’s coming but I sure don’t mind putting it off until the last possible moment – like maybe next year. 😉
Looks great, Richard! It’s amazing the halibut stays whole on top of the chard. Perhaps I’ll make this with bok choy as I don’t have chard in my garden and to go with the thai theme.
Hi, Stefan. I think this wold be very nice with bok choy. You probably can use spinach, or any other variety of greens. We liked the chard because it was a perfect balance with the halibut and the thai sauce plus it’s homegrown.
beautiful, as usual.
Thanks, Mimi. 🙂
Ugh this looks amazing! This would be great as a post workout meal. Stop by and say hi 🙂
Thanks, Christina. 🙂
Fantastic presentation. I’m a bit envious you have a personal photographer. 🙂
Hi, Virginia. Thanks for the compliment. Yes, it’s nice to have a personal photographer to help with the photos. It’s the only way I can get the pouring shots and other tricky shots. 🙂
Lovely dish. My favourite fish too. Baby Lady has gone overboard on the pouring shots. Ask her to desist please.
Best,
Conor
Baby Lady’s response is 😛
Well, you know how I feel about halibut, Richard, and you sure did it justice here. It’s grilled to perfection and beautifully presented. That’s a fantastic plate you prepared.
Thanks, John. This was a fun dish to do.
How very lucky that Baby Lady has you to cook at home! No doubt the fresh Alaskan halibut is as delicious as it appears in your pics. I’m yet to try it as I’m fairly certain it’s a northern hemisphere breed, one for the bucket list! I often prep a similar type of dressing which is delicious over a light protein, shredded lettuce & vermicelli (Vietnamese style!) one of my favourite things to eat over the summer too. 🙂
Hi, Alice. 🙂 Thanks for the nice words. Halibut is one of those cold water fishies that are found in the colder waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is the largest of the flatfishes (think flounder) and they weigh, on average, around 25 – 30 pounds. Substitutions include cod, turbot, dogfish, haddock or striped bass but they are definitely not the same. I definitely enjoyed this nice dipping sauce. The next day we used the leftover halibut, cold, atop baby spinach with a vinaigrette made from the dipping sauce and the blood orange olive oil. It was delicious. 🙂
Richard,
Absolutely stunning presentation. I love it. I am lusting after your cutting board/circular chopping block . . I know they are expensive and I’ve see a lot of people/chefs with them. . what is it? how is it better? and is there a brand that you can recommend that is not as expensive as John Boos & Co?
Hi, Alice. Thanks for your nice compliment. 🙂 I did not realize I had not responded to your inquiry. 😮 My bad. I don’t know how I missed it.
I have had this cutting board for 9 years. It’s 18″ in diameter, 3-1/2 deep and is made of white maple. It is a wonderful chopping block but it is very heavy which, along with its size, makes it a pain when washing. You also have to keep it oiled. Nonetheless, we do like it a lot and it gets daily use. I bought it from Williams-Sonoma for around $100. I looked online and they have a similar one but it’s made of teak for $129. You might be able to find one a little cheaper elsewhere but my guess is you will still pay $100 minimum.