serves 2
Eons ago, I went out with a man who lived near South Street Seaport. In the wee-hours, post-clubbing, we’d head to the Fulton Fish Market for late-night supper supplies.
Carl always used the same cooking technique no matter what fish we brought home: Melt several knobs of sweet butter in a cast-iron pan, then add the fish and cook it slowly until opaque but not brown at the edges. The trick was to keep the heat low enough that you don’t fry the fish, but poach it gently in fat, keeping the flesh moist and velvety. Cutting the fish into cubes quickens the cooking time.
My love affair with Carl’s fish recipe far outlasted that with the man, and I’ve adapted it widely over the years. I’ve swapped in olive oil, peanut oil, and even duck fat for the butter, and whole scallops and shrimp for the chunks of fish.
I especially like it with delicate whitefish that are prone to overcooking—halibut, for example, which requires focus to sear without drying it out. But slow poaching in lots of fat is forgiving. Even if it does go a minute longer than it should, it will stay supple.
For this recipe, I chose olive oil as the cooking medium because I had rosemary in the fridge and pairing the two is a classic. I also sprinkled some potent dried Turkish mint into the pan, along with garlic.
The halibut came out soft and juicy, infused with those heady flavors. A squeeze of lemon and some chopped fresh mint added brightness to this late-night-supper-turned-after-work meal, happily no clubbing required.
1 pound halibut fillet, cut into 1¼-inch cubes
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small fresh rosemary sprig
½ teaspoon dried mint
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste (optional)
Chopped fresh mint, for garnish
1. Season the halibut all over with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper.
2. In a medium skillet (just large enough to hold the fish cubes in one layer but not much bigger) over low heat, heat the oil. Add the fish, rosemary sprig, and dried mint, and cook slowly until the fish begins to turn opaque, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the fish is just cooked through, 3 minutes or so more (the heat should be low enough so as not to brown the garlic or fish, but high enough to gently cook everything; the cooking time will vary widely with your stove).
3. Taste and add more salt and pepper and a few drops of lemon juice, if desired. Stir in the fresh mint and serve, using a slotted spoon if you want to leave the poaching oil in the pan. But it’s delicious over couscous or potatoes.