Slow-Cooked Fish With Citrus and Herbs
Updated March 17, 2025
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1teaspoon saffron threads
- 3medium leeks, trimmed
- ¾cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1lemon (preferably Meyer), very thinly sliced into rounds, seeds picked out
- 1clementine or mandarin orange, very thinly sliced, seeds picked out
- Salt
- 2½pounds boneless, skinless halibut, cod or salmon, preferably one large center-cut piece
- ½cup coarsely chopped dill or tarragon or a combination
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
450 calories; 30 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 658 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Crush the saffron threads into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a spoon to crush it as finely as you can.) Dump out the ground saffron into a small bowl and pour 3 tablespoons of warm water over it. Set aside.
- Step 2
Cut the leeks in half lengthwise then coarsely chop. Give the leeks a good rinse to get rid of any dirt or sand.
- Step 3
Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and all citrus slices, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and citrus have softened and everything smells very delicious, 2 to 3 minutes. Slide the skillet off the heat and scoop out half the leek mixture into a small bowl.
- Step 4
Generously season the fish with salt on all sides and place in the center of the skillet over the leeks. Pour the saffron water over and around the fish, then top with the remaining leek mixture. Scatter the dill all over and pour in the remaining ½ cup oil. Transfer the skillet to the oven.
- Step 5
Bake until the fish is opaque and easily flakes off with a fork around the thickest part, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve as is in the skillet or use two forks to tear the fish into large pieces and transfer to a platter. Spoon all the leeks, citrus and fat over, taste and season with more salt if needed, and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Everyone just STOP. This is the best dish I have ever made from NYT cooking. I did reduce the amount of saffron a bit: it felt more like a flirt than persistence. In this very unclear national and global moment, this dish provided my family with a quiet assurance that, with a little effort, joy and gratitude can be found. Fragrant, copious, and nourishing: there is the possibility of a brighter tomorrow. My husband said he’d pay $50 for this dish in a city restaurant. It’s that good.
@Michael UWS You wrote this last year, and here we are. I have chills reading your words. I’m not Persian. I’m Jewish. We will make this dish for Nowruz and likely again next month for Passover. Hoping for a better future for us all.
This is one of my favorite recipes from NYT Cooking and I do not say that lightly. I used a large piece of salmon and followed the instructions exactly. It was so easy to prepare and is completely delicious! I wanted something to soak up the delicious oil and flavors so I prepared skinny egg pasta and tossed the pasta with the oil from the pan and then set the salmon on top. Can’t wait to have this again!!
I made as instructed and unfortunately saffron and citrus wasn’t enough to season my fishy. Nice idea but too plain for us.
I’ve made this twice this spring, once as directed and a second time reducing the olive oil just a bit. It is one of my favorite go-to festive recipes (so beautiful and so easy!). I used local California halibut (which is pretty lean) the first time, and wild Alaskan salmon the second time (reducing the olive oil because it really didn’t need that much). Both were excellent, but with the salmon it was sublime!
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I tried this, and it was mediocre at best. I followed the recipe to a at and it was bland, nothing special to me at all.