Slow-Cooked Fish With Citrus and Herbs
Updated March 17, 2025
Emma Fishman for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas.
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 teaspoon saffron threads
3 medium leeks, trimmed
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lemon (preferably Meyer), very thinly sliced into rounds, seeds picked out
1 clementine or mandarin orange, very thinly sliced, seeds picked out
Salt
2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless halibut, cod or salmon, preferably one large center-cut piece
½ cup coarsely chopped dill or tarragon or a combination
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
9 grams carbs; 93 milligrams cholesterol; 450 calories; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 30 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 658 milligrams sodium; 36 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
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!!
This was the most disappointed and actual awful tasting dish I have ever made. I was hopeful by using the citrus types as specified in the recipe would eliminate the bitterness mentioned in other reviews. I had purchased Iranian saffron while in Turkey so it was a prized saffron, however I think it is saffron and possibly some reactions it had with other ingredients that led to most offensive taste and smell. Completely ruined my halibut.
Made with cod and dill. Followed the recipe as instructed. Effort to deliciousness ratio is unmatched. Great recipe. My kids loved it too.
Finally got some more saffron so I can make this again as it was so good. Surprised so many thought it was bitter- it does say Meyer lemon which is half as tart as a regular one. They can be hard to find in some regions so what I did was increase the mandarin and just used only a bit of zest of the lemon as the pith is the bitter part. Most mandarins have little pith so it’s not a problem with them. And the one comment thought it was the saffron? How can that be as it’s only slightly bitter which should be balanced by its floral notes - they must have not soaked it long enough? If you had problems try it again as it really is delicious!