Seared Halibut With Anchovies, Capers And Garlic

Delicious.
But wait to add the minced garlic until the anchovies have melted. Otherwise you can end up with bitter, burned garlic.

So simple to make and simply delicious flavors to eat. If you're serving the "anchovy averse" you can leave them out and this is still taste bud tingling. If you are fans of the inexplicable extra zip of anchovies, this is even better with them in. We are particular fans of swordfish prepared this way but halibut too. We double the capers and roughly triple the lemon juice (a full tablespoon).

Made this for the first time last night with frozen swordfish steaks. It was phenomenal! Followed Zeus's recommendation to wait to add garlic and I agree. I put in more garlic, capers, and lemon than called for because I just live on the edge like that. The best thing is this is so easy, I can make it any weeknight.

Hasn't anyone heard of anchovy paste? Like microwave ovens, it seems to not exist in Mark's world.

That's because anchovy paste does not taste good. Do a taste test, paste vrs an anchovy fillet, it's a night and day difference.

Absolutely fabulous. Perhaps olives, in addition, if you wish.

I had a thick piece of halibut and was disappointed that it overcooked while in the oven. I’d consider eliminating the oven portion or just use a low temp especially since your adding it to the pan again. Feel like this part could use some clarification.

If you don’t have anchovy filets on hand, can substitute 1 tbs anchovy paste. Add exactly as directed for anchovies—but whisk in lightly with the garlic. I finished by deglazing the pan with a splash of dry vermouth, after taking out the halibut (at the end); reduced that and poured all over the filets. Great recipe — thank you, Mark B!

Deh-lish, undeniably so. Did not have capers, substituted equal amount finely chopped castelvetranos and it still worked!

This was quite delicious. But after you get the cooked fish out of the pan, I would let the remaining sauce simmer for a bit to thicken. It was a little too runny.

Super easy, super quick, and absolutely delicious. Anchovy haters, fear not! You absolutely cannot tell that anchovies are in the dish. Just terrific.

I made this on a whim. Saw the fresh halibut and couldn't resist. Came home, found this recipe and had everything on hand except the anchovies -- so I subbed about 1 T of fish sauce (which is mostly anchovy anyway), and it worked. The hard part was guesstimating how much fish sauce four actual anchovies would have turned into. 1 T gave it a pretty mild flavor. I'd use more for a stronger flavor but it tasted great nonetheless.

With a piece of exquisitely fresh Pacific Northwest halibut that was swimming two days ago, the seasonings were just too assertive for such a sweet, delicate fish. That said, if your halibut is a bit long in the tooth, these toppings would probably enhance the fish. I would definitely make this again with a piece of previously-frozen swordfish or cod.

I used Halibut and skipped the oven portion. No need to heat the oven up, especially since halibut can dry out if over cooked. I did the whole process on the stove in a non stick pan. I also waited on adding the garlic until the anchovies broke down. I use to avoid anything that had anchovies and if needed, I would use the paste. After reading about and tasting the difference, I will NEVER use the paste and will always be open to recipes that call for anchovies. This was delicious and so easy!

I think it's spelled Opa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opah