Skip to content
buying seafood logo

Buying Seafood

Reviews of Fish, Shellfish, and Seafood

  • About Buying Seafood
  • Get in Touch With Buying Seafood
  • From Head to Tale
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
Roasted Pesto Halibut

Atlantic Halibut From Whole Foods Was A Good Buy

Posted on 02/24/202009/09/2023 By buyingseafood
Choosing Seafood, Seafood Recipes, Seafood Sources
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

I prefer to get my fish from a local fish dealer or co-op rather than the supermarket. However talking to people from all across the country it’s obvious that many seafood loves don’t have access to a good stand-alone seafood market. They rely on their local supermarket for seafood, so I have been buying fish from a local Whole Foods lately in the name of research.

So far I have liked the variety of fish, both familiar and non-local. This recent trip they had Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish), Alaskan black cod and plenty of local caught hake, haddock, cod and flounder. It’s been a while since I had a nice piece of halibut. Whole Foods had previously-frozen Atlantic halibut fillets on sale for $18.99 so I brought home a pound.

Thawed Atlantic Halibut

Because I did not plan on cooking it that night, I kept the fish wrapped and placed it atop a frozen ice pack and placed it in the back of my refrigerator meat drawer. When bringing fish home remember the colder the better until preparing. Most refrigerators are not really cold enough to keep your fish for long. The ice pack, will help keep things a few degrees colder and allow the fish to stay fresh for a day or two.

The fish was previously frozen, which means that re-freezing was not really an option. It is not recommended from a food-safety standpoint to do this. If I’m being honest, I have put previously frozen fish in the freezer and many fishermen I know have as well. I never had a problem with it, but I don’t endorse the practice. Do as I say, not as I do: Don’t re-freeze your fish.

The Fish: Atlantic Halibut

Atlantic halibut is still recovering from past overfishing, but the species is making a comeback. Atlantic halibut is not currently subjected to overfishing in American waters due to years of heavy restrictions. Only one fish, with a 42 inch limit is all that can be brought in per trip. What gives me hope for the future is that more and more boats have been bringing in that one legal sized fish, meaning more and more of these huge flatfish are growing to marketable size. We are decades away from reaching NOAA’s target for the Atlantic halibut biomass, but it looks like we are headed in the right direction.

Roasted Halibut With Creamy Herb Pesto
Pin
Print

Roasted Halibut With Creamy Herb Pesto

Recipe by Buying SeafoodCuisine: SeafoodDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes

This is NOT a low-FODMAP recipe, but it is not far off the mark. I tend to omit garlic from my pesto anyway but with a few modifications it could a true low-FODMAP seafood dinner. Be adventurous in your selection of herbs, any that go well with fish will make a nice pesto. The addition of lemon not only works with the fish, but helps keep your pesto greener.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Halibut steak or fillet

  • 1/2 oz each of fresh Basil, Dill, Mint, Italian Parsley

  • 1/4 cup Sour cream or Mayonnaise

  • 5-7 Almonds or equivalent weight of Pine Nut, Walnut or Pistachio

  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino, Parmigiano or Grana Padano

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 1 Lemon for juice and zest

  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425F. Season halibut with salt and pepper.
  • Put herbs, almonds, a pinch of salt, and a bit of the lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until broken down, then gradually add oil until you have a nice paste. place in a bowl, add the cheese, some pepper and taste before adding the sour cream.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment, place halibut skin side down and coat with the creamy herb pesto.
    Halibut ready for oven
  • Bake for about 15 minutes and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Make sure there is enough lemon flavor and then fold in enough sour cream to make it silky. If you want a more pesto flavor add less sour cream.

WordPress Recipe Plugin by WPZOOM

My ratio of herbs made for a light and bright flavor that also made enough to use as a nice dip for toasted sourdough bread. Since the potatoes I planned as a side would take longer I gave them a 15 minute head start. The fish itself took about 18 minutes. I let it rest for about 2 minutes and after that you could tell it was white, opaque and flaky…no thermometer required.

The Verdict: Atlantic Halibut from Whole Foods

The thing about halibut is that if it is good quality, it really don’t need anything at all. The pesto cream sauce was mild and allowed the halibut taste to come through. I also like the combo of dill and mint in the pesto and I will have to try it again, maybe on some salmon.

Many of us do not have access to a high quality fish market, but if you have a Whole Foods in your area, you have access to good seafood. That goes for many other supermarkets as well, Frozen or previously-frozen is not a sign of bad quality, ask any fisherman. Most of them have their freezer filled with fish. When in doubt ask the fishmonger about what they are selling, if they don’t know what they are selling move on to the frozen section. If the frozen section is letting you down, maybe it’s time to start buying your seafood online.

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
FollowFollow us
PinterestSave
Tags: baked fish recipes local seafood Pesto supermarket

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Alaskan Smoked Salmon From Jerry’s Is The Real Deal
Next Post: Scrod Haddock With Creamy Dill Sauce Will Make You Forget About Lockdowns ❯

You may also like

scrod haddock with creamy dill and ritz
Choosing Seafood
Scrod Haddock With Creamy Dill Sauce Will Make You Forget About Lockdowns
03/17/2020
steamers christmas tree
Seafood Recipes
A Gift Of Steamed Clams For Christmas
12/23/2019
Seafood Recipes
New Seafood Cookbook: From Head To Tale, Available On Amazon
01/19/2017
Follow by Email
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram

  • Choosing Seafood
  • Eating Invasive Species
  • Fish Sandwich Showdown
  • Fried Clam Files
  • Low FODMAP
  • Seafood Industry News
  • Seafood Recipes
  • Seafood Sources
  • Species Spotlight
  • Sponsored
  • Tinned Fish
  • Uncategorized

Affiliate Disclosure
This site uses affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Your purchases help sustain this website. You will not pay more by clicking through to the link.

Copyright © 2023 Buying Seafood.

Theme: Oceanly News by ScriptsTown