Bronzed Alaska Halibut with Tomato and Tarragon Butter

Serves 6

• 6 halibut fillets, about 8 ounces each
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 4 tablespoons canola oil

Rinse the fillets and pat them dry. Mix the sugar, paprika, sea salt, and white pepper, and sprinkle the fillets with this mixture.

Over medium-high heat, preheat a large skillet for 1 minute. Put the canola oil in the pan; it should be almost smoking hot.

Put the halibut in the pan skin side up, reduce heat to medium, and allow the fish to cook, undisturbed, until a crisp brown crust has formed on the underside, about 4 minutes.

Use a flexible steel fish spatula or a pancake turner to lift the fillets out of the pan, being careful not to tear the delicate crust that has formed. Turn the fillets and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. (The fish may be prepared ahead up to this point and kept refrigerated for several hours.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the partially cooked halibut fillets until they are cooked through, about 7 minutes. The skins will stick to the baking sheet, so you can lift the fillets off the sheet while leaving the skins behind.

To serve, place a pan-seared fish fillet in the center of each serving plate. Top with the tomato and tarragon butter and the garnishes from that recipe (tomato dice and sprigs of tarragon).

• Makes about 1 cup
• 2 ripe medium tomatoes (about ½ pound)
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, or 1 tablespoon fresh
• ¾ cup (1-½ sticks) butter
• Tarragon sprigs for garnish

Quarter the tomatoes and put the wedges skin side down on a cutting board. Use the knife to scoop out the inside from each wedge, leaving a ¼-inch thick piece of skin. Cut the thick skins into ¼-inch dice to garnish the finished dish, and set aside.

Put the insides of the tomatoes into a blender along with the tomato paste, red wine, garlic, salt, and pepper. Purée the mixture by pulsing the blender on and off a few times, then allowing it to run uninterrupted for about 5 seconds. The goal is to crush the tomato pulp and leave the seeds relatively undamaged.

Pass the purée through a strainer into a small nonreactive (stainless steel or enamel) saucepan and discard the seeds. Add the tarragon and bring the purée to a boil over high heat, and allow it to reduce to about a third of its original volume.

Whisk the butter into the tomato purée, and serve the tomato butter over fish. Garnish with the tarragon sprigs and tomato dice.

(Click here to read a review of "Entertaining in the Northwest Style")

June 2006