Baked Halibut With Tomato Caper Sauce

Name: Baked Halibut With Tomato Caper Sauce
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped; 4 plump garlic cloves, minced or mashed in a mortar and pestle; 1/4 cup capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped or mashed with the garlic in a mortar and pestle; 2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice; Salt, preferably kosher salt; freshly ground pepper to taste; Pinch of sugar; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves; 1 tablespoon slivered fresh basil leaves; 1 recipe tomato-caper sauce, above; 6 6-ounce halibut fillets (Choose Pacific halibut over Atlantic halibut. According to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Blue Ocean Institute, Pacific halibut fisheries have been properly managed, but they are overfished in the Atlantic.); Salt, preferably kosher salt; freshly ground pepper; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 6 lemon slices

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(640)
Notes: Read community notes

This is a pungent tomato sauce that I learned to make in Provence. It goes well with any type of robust fish.

Featured in: The Seafood Conundrum

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6

For the Tomato Caper Sauce

1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½medium onion, finely chopped
4plump garlic cloves, minced or mashed in a mortar and pestle
¼cup capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped or mashed with the garlic in a mortar and pestle
2pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
Salt, preferably kosher salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1tablespoon slivered fresh basil leaves

For the Baked Halibut

1recipe tomato-caper sauce, above
66-ounce halibut fillets (Choose Pacific halibut over Atlantic halibut. According to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Blue Ocean Institute, Pacific halibut fisheries have been properly managed, but they are overfished in the Atlantic.)
Salt, preferably kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6lemon slices

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

For the Tomato Caper Sauce
1. Step 1
  Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, three to five minutes, and add the garlic and the capers. Cook, stirring, for three to five minutes, until the onion has softened thoroughly and the mixture is fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Stir in the thyme, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot or cold.
2. Step 2
  Make the sauce as directed and keep warm.
3. Step 3
  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough for the fish to lie flat. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and arrange in the baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the fillets, and place a round of lemon on each one. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Bake 15 minutes. Check the fish; if you can cut into it with a fork, it is done. If it doesn’t yield, (halibut fillets tend to be thick can take time to cook), cover and return to the oven for five minutes. Remove from the oven, and check again. Remove the lemon slices from the fish.
4. Step 4
  Place a spoonful of sauce on each plate, and place a piece of fish partially on top. Spoon some of the liquid from the baking dish over the fish. If you wish, top the fish with another spoonful of sauce, garnish with basil leaves and serve.

Tip

Advance preparation: The sauce will keep for about five days in the refrigerator.

Ratings

5 out of 5

640 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Jean6 years ago

One of the best fish dishes I have ever had, thanks to the amazing sauce! I used canned chopped tomatoes. I tripled the fresh thyme leaves (used 1 TBSP instead of 1 tsp), using English thyme from my garden. We used the plump Greek capers, and we did mash the capers and garlic together with mortar and pestle. Next time we may add a little chopped olive.....

Kris6 years ago

This was delicious! I seared the halibut first in a cast iron pan, topped it with the sauce and baked at 450 for 10 min. Perfecto!!

Janet6 years ago

Great recipe, will definitely make it again. I made two adjustments: 1) I cooked the sauce longer to further reduce the acidity of canned tomatoes; and 2) having read the comment below about the surface of the cooked fish, I put sauce on top of the fish before cooking it. The result looked beautiful, and the sauce flavor seeped in but did not overwhelm the fish flavor.

Kris6 years ago

This is so delicious!! I like to cook the sauce and put it on top of the fish as it's finishing in the oven. I also like to sear the fish on top of the stove before adding the sauce and putting in the oven. If doing this reduce cooking time to about 10 min in oven. Perfecto!!

Jane6 years ago

This sauce was delicious prepared with canned diced Italian tomatoes. I prefer to roast the fish without foil, checking at 10 minutes. And, inspired by one of Melissa Clarke's recipes, I scattered a few pitted and sliced Kalamata olives over the fish before roasting. This dish is easy to prepare for a family dinner or for company!

Andrea6 years ago

Flavorful, moist and delicious! I added a bit of red wine to the sauce and used plump capers. A most pleasing dish!

JG6 years ago

Really liked it. Added about a teas of anchovy paste.

Rodney6 years ago

This is a delicious and easy to prepare. Makes a great presentation and I wouldn't hesitate to serve it to guests for a nice dinner party. We served it with cauliflower "rice" and some broiled asparagus for a super healthy and satisfying dinner.

Eric L6 days ago

Delicious - added a splash of white wine. Be cautious with the salt since the capers already bring so much salinity.

Jane3 weeks ago

Loved this! Followed the recipe precisely with only the addition of some sliced Kalamata olives because I love them. It could not have been more delicious or perfectly cooked. Will try it with cod as well which is a bit less expensive. SO good.

BabsD5 months ago

Winner - no herbs and no sugar. No one knew just how easy this savory sauce was ; )

Andrea11 months ago

I added a splash oof Pernod. It was great with the fish.

Annabella1 year ago

Agreed with those who seared the fish first, topped it with the sauce & baked it covered. Delish!! I miss Martha Rose!

very good1 year ago

Dad liked, plum market halibut needs to be cooked 20 minutes, 15 is not enough, 25 is too much. Sauce needs to cook a very long time, 1 hour got it to where the canned Kroger tomatoes softened

very good1 year ago

Dad liked, plum market thick halibut needed to cook 20 minutes, 25 was too long. Sauce needed to cook an hour

Stpeh1 year ago

I followed the excellent suggestions below for pre-searing and baking with the sauce on top. I left off the lemon as I was lucky to have super fresh fish directly from the fisherman.

kathy1 year ago

Love this sauce! Really good with canned tomatoes in the winter, but over the top delicious with fresh summer tomatoes. I didn’t peel the tomatoes, didn’t see the need. Black olives are a nice addition.

BridgetG1 year ago

This is a great recipe. Made it exactly as written

Wildiris2 years ago

I make the sauce in a cast iron pan, then add the fish right to it, top with lemon slices and put the whole pan in the oven. It’s been in my rotation this way for awhile and my kids even eat it. They like the capers.

Mark S2 years ago

I read all the comments; all very helpful. I choose to use shallots, a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic, capers, salt and pepper. I used wonderful fresh tomatoes and fresh thyme (as commenter, Jean suggested). I put the sauce on top of the halibut, with olive oil; covered in foil for 20 min. Uncovered for 10 min more. Served with roasted/smashed Yukon golds. Fabulous! Will make the sauce again for sure. And the method for the fish as well.

Harriet2 years ago

Made this tonight for the first time. It was superb. The only substitution was dried thyme for fresh because that is what I had available. I will definitely make this again.

Mark Rubenstein2 years ago

Easy and extremely tasty. Lots of fresh herbs and I added some red pepper flake to give it some pep. Great dish

Es2 years ago

Superb. As it is winter I used a blend of spices that included basil and fennel. Delicious sauce and the halibut (needed closer to 20 minutes) was beautifully tender.

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