Halibut...Two Ways

My dad’s favorite fish is halibut. I know this because he tells me every time we have it for dinner. My mom and I favor salmon, but we order some of each so we can switch up our fish meals during the week. I find halibut to be very mild and in need of a little spicing up. The first attempt to give it a little something extra was with a mango salsa. We had unfortunately run out of red onion on this night, so the salsa consisted of mango, red bell pepper and lime juice. The fish was baked with a little extra virgin coconut oil, Celtic sea salt and cumin sprinkled over the top. It looked really pretty once it was on the plate and topped with the fresh mango salsa.



For our second attempt at a mango salsa, we had unfortunately run out of red bell pepper, but were able to include red onion. It tasted delish, but the red onions smelled so strong and they just linger. As Scott Conant has said on Chopped…raw red onion is just really offensive! That combined with cumin which also has a strong somewhat offensive odor left me wanting a shower and good teeth brushing! This was clearly not my most favorite way to have halibut, so it was back to the drawing board.

The second attempt at a halibut preparation was to bake the fish with just a little extra virgin coconut oil and a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt. As the halibut baked, I mixed up a fresh basil pesto in the Vitamix:

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Walnuts (pine nuts could also be used)
1 Clove Fresh Garlic
1 Lemon, Juiced
2 Cups Fresh Basil


The pesto turned out amazing and it really gave a nice flavor to the halibut. Plus, the health benefits include omega-3 fats from the walnuts, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties from lemons and garlic as well as digestive support from the basil. We have on occassion added a little spinach to give the pesto a more green color and pack in a few more nutrients.


The great thing about the pesto is that it can also be used with egg dishes too!