Poached Halibut Steaks With Nicoise Sauce

By Pierre Franey

Updated April 15, 2019

Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(25)
Comments
Read comments

The ingredient that identifies this dish as nicoise is, of course, olives, and in this recipe there are both green and red. Tomatoes are also essential to nicoise cooking, as are olive oil and garlic. This is a colorful and full-flavored dish. A little cayenne gives it a sharp edge.

Featured in: 60-Minute Gourmet

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 4 small ripe plum tomatoes, about ½ pound

  • 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

  • 4 tablespoons virgin olive oil

  • 4 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

  • 4 tablespoons fresh basil or parsley

  • 8 small pitted black nicoise olives, chopped coarse

  • 8 small pitted green nicoise olives, chopped coarse

  • ½ teaspoon grated orange rind

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

FOR THE FISH

  • 4 boneless, skinless halibut fillets, about 6 ounces each, or any white fleshed fish, like turbot

  • ¼ cup milk

  • ½ cup thinly sliced onions

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 4 parsley sprigs

  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried

  • 2 whole cloves

  • 6 black peppercorns

  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • Salt to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

9 grams carbs; 82 milligrams cholesterol; 332 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 696 milligrams sodium; 34 grams protein; 4 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.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make sauce, place tomatoes into boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and pull away the skins. Cut away and discard core. Cut tomatoes crosswise and cut into ¼-inch cubes. There should be about 1 cup.

  2. Step 2

    Place vinegar in a mixing bowl, and add oil, shallots, garlic, basil, black and green olives, orange rind and salt and pepper. Blend well with a wire whisk. There should be about 1 ¼ cups.

  3. Step 3

    To prepare fish, place fillets in a skillet large enough to hold them in one layer. Add enough water to cover fish. Add milk, onions, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, cloves, peppercorns, cayenne and salt.

  4. Step 4

    Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish, or until fish flakes easily. Do not overcook.

  5. Step 5

    Drain, remove bay leaf, parsley and thyme, and serve hot or warm with sauce.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
25 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Anne NYC

You are right, I guess they forgot to mention that you add the tomatoes to Step 2? Maybe?

Chica

The tomatoes in step 1 are used to make a sauce. The sauce is served with the fish in step 5.

Tom A

So what do we do with the tomatoes that were prepared in Step 1? It never comes up again.

Anne NYC

You are right, I guess they forgot to mention that you add the tomatoes to Step 2? Maybe?

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.