Continuing with my Valentine’s Day meal that started on Monday, the appetizer of Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese salad, today, we are making the main course. Specifically, seared halibut with white bean ragout. This dish seems much more complicated than it is; that’s part of the beauty of it. It’s actually a straightforward dish that tastes and looks amazing. If you can’t find halibut or don’t like it, you can substitute it with salmon, haddock, cod, or just about any other kind of fish you’d like. Alright, let’s get to it.

Roasted Carrots

I really like serving roasted carrots with this dish becasue they add a pop of orange and a bit of sweetness. You can use roasted beets instead if you’d like. Peel two carrots, and cut the ends off. Take one carrot and cut it on a 45° angle, about an inch thick. Roll the carrot forward a quarter turn, so the tip of the carrot is on top. Then, make another 45° angle cut. This gives the carrots an oblong shape that looks professional and really cool. You can cut the carrots as you normally would, but this technique adds that little extra that helps make a dish seem fancy. Toss the carrots with a tablespoon of olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme, and some salt and pepper, then roast at 400°f for 35 minutes.

White Bean Ragout

While the carrots are cooking, make the white bean ragout. Start by opening a 400ml can of white beans, then drain and rinse them. Heat a 2qt pot over medium heat, add in a tablespoon of olive oil, along with 1/2 cup of diced onion. Cook the onion for 3 minutes, then add in 1 tablespoon of garlic and cook for another minute. Pour a 1/2 cup of white wine into the pot and cook until it has almost all evaporated. Put the beans in the pot along with a few sprigs of thyme, season with salt and pepper, then add just enough water to come up to the top of the beans. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash about half the beans. Add two cups or two big handfuls of baby spinach to the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and stir until the spinach is cooked into the beans. Keep cooking until the mixture is thick enough to stand up on a spoon. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the beans, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Sauce Verte (green sauce)

While the beans are cooking, put 1 cup of parsley, 1/4 cup sage leaves, 1/4 of almonds, 1 tsp of kosher salt, the juice of half a lemon, and 1/2 cup of oil into the bowl of your blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Halibut

Heat a medium-sized non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add in a teaspoon of olive oil. Season your halibut with salt and pepper, then place it in the pan. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown, then flip and cook it for 1 more minute. Put the halibut in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your fish’s thickness. When cooked, the halibut, or whatever fish you are using should be firm in the middle but not springy. I only cooked one piece of fish because my wife wasn’t home when I made this, but you will want to cook two portions if serving two people.

Plating the halibut

To plate the halibut, get two round plates. Imagine the plates are divided into four. There is a line through the middle vertically and a line through the middle horizontally. Spoon half your beans onto each plate in one of the imaginary quarters. Divide your carrots among the plates and place them around the beans. Put your fish on top of the beans and carrots and top with a spoonful or two of the sauce.

Seared Halibut with White Bean Ragout

If you are looking for that perfect Valentine's Day meal, look no further. This seared halibut with white bean ragout is the perfect thing to impress the person you love. And, it seems much more complicated and like much more work than it actually is. You can't beat that.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: Fish and Seafood, Halibut, Valentine’s Day

Servings: 2 servings

Author: Chef’s Notes

Ingredients

Roasted Carrots

• 2 med. carrots
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

White Bean Ragout

• 400 ml can white beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2-3 sprigs Thyme
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups baby spinach or two big handfuls
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• The juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup water

Green Sauce

• 1 cup parsely
• 1/4 cup sage leaves
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• the juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Seared Halibut

• 2 Halibut Fillets (140-170 g each)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

Instructions

Roasted Carrots

• Peel the carrots and cut the tops off.
• Cut the carrots on a 45° angle about an inch thick, rolling forward a 1/4 turn after every cut.
• Toss the carrots with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme, spread out in a roasting pan and cook for 35 minutes on 400°f, turning half way through.

White Bean Ragout

• Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Add in the olive oil and onion and cook for 3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add the white wine and thyme to the pot and cook until the wine has almost all evaporated.
• Add enough water into the pot to just come up to the top of the beans. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for ten minutes.
• Use a potato masher to mash about half the beans, then add in the spinach. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and cook stirring, until the beans are thick enough to stand up on a spoon, about 6 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the beans, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Green Sauce

• Put the herbs, almonds, olive oil, and salt in a blender and blitz. Stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Halibut

• Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil into the pan. Season the halibut and add it into the pan.
• Cook the halibut for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the halibut, cook for 1 more minute, then put it in the oven at 400°f for 5 to 8 minutes or until cooked through. The fish should be firm in the middle but not springy.
• Plate the beans on two round plates. Top with the carrots, then the fish. Top the fish with the sauce and serve.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

The Wrap Up

This a beautiful dish that most people would be happy to buy in any restaurant. I know there are multiple components and steps, but when you look at this just as those steps, there is nothing hard about it. I know that to a lot of you, this dish is going to seem intimidating, but don’t let that hold you back. It’s worth the effort, especially on Valentine’s Day when you are making it for someone you love. Also, the carrots, sauce and beans, may all be made a day ahead. You’ll have to reheat the carrots in the oven for ten minutes and the beans on the stove., but that’s it. And again, you can use any fish you’d like. Remember to come back Friday for your dessert. Enjoy!

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