Make this just for the halibut!” My mother used to say this all the time to the point where we would roll our eyes. The annoying thing is that I find myself using the same tired old line. I guess it is part of our cooking repertoire, and she probably got it from her mother.
It’s been a busy week, with the weather all over the place again from beautifully warm to freezing, with a bit of rain sprinkled in for interest. The leaves are all down now, the trees bare and sleeping for the duration. We have been hearing people use the term ‘stick season’ the last few years, that time when the trees do look like barren sticks poking through the landscape, a grey time between fall foliage and winter snow. I never heard the term until recently, and I’m told it started with a rather bleak love song by Vermonter Noah Kahan “Stick Season,” which led to his Grammy nomination.
“And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of sticks, and I saw your mom and she forgot that I existed…
“And I’ll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose.”
What can I say? Until we start celebrating the holidays, and we get a little light, bright snow, it can feel a little dismal on those rainy days. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t busy filling our wood boxes and getting the gardens put to bed. All the bulbs are going to plant are in the ground, and I have to admit to a couple of small perennials I’ve yet to settle in to the garden.
Fish to the rescue
When there is little time to cook on days like this, but we still want to treat ourselves to something delicious, fish is usually a good choice. The sides often take longer to cook than the main event.
Our menus change with the weather
At the fish markets, we are seeing halibut more regularly than we have in recent past. It is a delicious, buttery fish and I found some just in this past week, which made a really quick dinner served up with some broccoli and some carrots recycled from the dinner before. We lit a fire, and enjoyed the warmth while the Champlain Winds jiggled everything outside from the top of the cold frame to the stick branches of the trees.
One really big fish
Halibut is a favorite New England white flat fish. It is one of the largest flatfish in the world, growing to an amazing 15 feet. They can live up to 50 years if allowed to. Because of overfishing, U.S. wild halibut populations are now managed sustainably under a rebuilding plan that allows limited harvest by our fishermen.
Management of the fishing
Management under the New England Fishery Managing Council includes permitting for commercial vessels, separate permitting for recreational, year-round and seasonal closures of fishing during spawning and to protect certain areas, catch and size limits, and adherence to a rebuilding plan.
Ready, set, go!
Get your veggies almost cooked before you even begin this one, it’s that fast. Keep your eye on the halibut, when overcooked it becomes dry. I’ve used an organic dehydrated potato here that is nothing but potatoes, this is a good time to read the ingredients list as some brands have tons of unpronounceable things added that are obviously not necessary. Some of the potatoes will stick to the fish, some to the pan, but it’s all delicious. While I would never eat these flakes as mashed potatoes, they have a spot in my pantry coating fish and for thickening soup, the latter being a Jacques Pépin trick.
The pan is important. A large stainless steel skillet works best here, you want the glaze from the shallot and fish to adhere to the pan, and a non-stick simply won’t work well here.
Potato Coated Halibut Steaks
- 2 5-ounce halibut steaks
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- Potato flakes for coating
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small shallot, minced, a heaping tablespoon.
- Zest and 2 tbsp. of lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. white wine or water
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. minced parsley
Pat the fish dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Coat with the mustard and dust with potato flakes.
In a large skillet, stainless steel NOT non-stick, heat the olive oil over medium high and add the shallot, stirring it around for about 30 seconds, then add the fish. Cook for about four minutes on the first side, it will brown lightly, then turn and cook an additional minute or two, just until the flesh is set. Remove from pan. Add the lemon juice and wine (water), deglaze, remove from the heat, stir in the zest, butter, and parsley.
Plate the fish and top with the sauce. There won’t be a lot, but it will be just enough and filled with flavor.
Vegetarian Alternative:
This technique lends itself beautifully to tofu. Use a firm tofu, press the excess water out, and you can marinate it in some additional lemon juice for about 15 minutes before cooking, just for a bit more flavor. Follow the rest of the recipe, and use a vegan butter. Scrumptious!
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I’ve never heard of stick season. I’m going to be saying that all winter!!
It seems to be a new season, but it fits!
Sounds wonderful. 🍃🐟
Thank you! It was scrumptious and simple, a perfect combo.
Oh yes, Dorothy, this is one for the recipe folder! Yum.
I’m listening to Noah Kahan as I write. I hadn’t known of him or heard him. Delightful. Even though the lyrics are quite sad, his voice is so uplifting!
‘Stick Season’ – now makes sense to a non snow environment Aussie. 🙂
I can just see you rolling your eyes, and your mum smiling – or was that more a ‘smirk’?
Smirk might be more accurate!
Yum! This recipe is absolutely mouth-watering. Although we do eat fish, I also appreciated the vegetarian alternative!
It’s so simple, and a good recipe to show young folks just starting out how little glaze on the pan is needed for a nice sauce.
My mom used to say the same thing!
They thought it was so funny, didn’t they? And I bite my tongue when I hear it come out of my mouth, tongue in cheek that it is!
I love your seasonal commentary as much as the beauty of the food. And if it were not for “stick season” I would not have as many opportunities to use the fire pit!
That is true my friend! You’ve found the silver lining!
Dorothy, you show over and over again how simple good, quality ingredients cooked with love create beautiful mouth-watering dishes! 😊 We are still blessed with a lot of leaves here as the weather has been unusually kind but once it starts, the ‘stick season’ in our corner of Britain is horribly long because a snowy winter wonderland is a very rare event!
Believe it our not Lis, a full snowy winter is becoming a bit rare even in Vermont! Give me the snow over the grey any day!
Halibut is such a lovely fish and this way of cooking it sounds most delicious ..I have not used potato flakes ever in my cooking not thought of it as a coating/topping..Thank you Dorothy for the idea 🙂 x
My memories of potato flakes were from my childhood. My girlfriend’s mother often made them and I thought they were horrible. I’d douse them with gravy or butter just so I could eat them and be polite.
However, used like this, they work like a charm! The coating tastes subtly of fried potatoes, and what’s wrong with that?
Absolutely, Dorothy my memories are similar to yours from childhood and thats why I have never entertained cooking with them however it just shows a bit of ingenuity can work wonders 🙂 x
Not to mention a nod from Jacques!
Such a great idea to use dry potato flakes as a coating!
Jenna
Works like a charm with a subtle fried potato flavor. Can’t beat that!
I love this idea!
Thanks John! It’s really simple and so delicious!
Halibut with a lemony-mustardy sauce? I’m all in! And what a brilliant idea it is, to use potato flakes in this way! Perfect when a gluten-free dish is required. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Thanks Ronit! The potato flakes are one of my favorite coatings for fish; it’s light and adds a little nice flavor that is not overpowering. You can make the crust thicker if you like by dredging first in egg or even mayonnaise, but I like the thin approach best.
Love halibut! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Michael and Jeen!
I never heard of stick season, but it’s such an applicable vivid description for this time of year. The halibut looks delightful. I never would have thought about using potato flakes to bread the fish.
Thanks Sheryl! Since I’ve heard phrase, that’s what i think of when I look at the woods!
The potatoes made a really lovely coating for the fish, a nice flavor and texture.
I’ve never heard of stick season, I always find something new 😉 What a delicious and comforting dish!
Thank you Ribana! I hadn’t heard it called that either until a couple of years ago, I guess it is ‘sticking’ as a phrase…sorry.
Halibut is not that easy to find in Florida but grouper would work great for this quick and easy dish.
Grouper would be delicious here!
Yay, another new use for potatoes! 😃 You’re so right about checking the ingredients of instant potatoes. Even the so-called simple ones have a ton of preservative-type things in them. I use pure dried potato flakes quite often in bread recipes. Love your use of them on halibut, one of my all-time favorites! This meal would knock the gray right outta the sky…
Thanks Terrie! It was really tasty.
I haven’t used the flakes in bread but I bet it’s great. Mom used to save her potato cooking water for when she made bread.
Halibut is so delicious, and your preparation is sure to make it even better. Thank you for all the info on prep, Dorothy.
That looks delicious!
Thank you Rain Cloud! It was really tasty.