Sprouts had their wild halibut on sale this week and we love the stuff, so it was a given we'd be having it tonight for dinner. I had the brilliant idea to combine the halibut with spinach to get some more of that green stuff into the big guy. I try and sneak it in as much as possible because it's just so darn good for us. I mean, even Popeye knew what he was doing. Nutritionists profess that eating spinach can make your brain smarter and give you better eyesight at the same time. Now, I don't know about you, but I could sure use help in the eyesight department and I absolutely refuse to talk about the "smarter brain". After all, I don't forget a thing, ever. I just procrastinate. Yeah, right!
I rinsed and dried the halibut, then covered the top in a sauce made of anchovies, capers and mayonnaise. If the thought of putting anchovies on the fish turns you off, you could certainly replace them with Dijon mustard and some fresh dill - if you do that, leave out the capers too. I've done it that way before and the flavor is quite good, but really, the anchovies aren't that prominent and their flavor really brings out the best in the halibut. The tricky part is wrapping the fillet in a thin layer of potato. Had I been thinking (thus the need for spinach more often), I would have taken a picture to show you how.
Simply, remove the peel on a large Idaho potato, then take lengthwise layers off with your peeler. Lay the potato layers out on a piece of paper towel, over lapping them as you go along until you have a sheet of potato big enough to cover the halibut. Then dry the top of the potato layer, place the halibut in the center and using the paper towel, fold the potato onto the fish (I used fillet, but the recipe calls for halibut steak - whatever). Press lightly to seal. Then I coated the potato in a very fine dusting of flour, which while not called for in the recipe, acts as a sort of "glue". Then I browned the bundle on both sides, and finished cooking it in the oven. It's not as complicated as it sounds. Honest. You can find this recipe on http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Crusted-Halibut-Steaks-10043
The spinach recipe is from Gourmet magazine, and can be found online at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-with-Sour-Cream-and-Toasted-Pine-Nuts-11906 While this spinach may have a little more than the standard 23 calories per 100 grams, it is worth every creamy, lemony bite. The frugal in me wanted to leave the pine nuts out, but they add such a great flavor and crunch too, that I'm glad I listened to the devil and left them in.
I asked the big guy several times if he liked the spinach, and kept getting "the look". Of course he wouldn't admit to anything, but he cleaned his plate. Now that is interesting, isn't it?
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