Halibut Puttanesca

Hi! Welcome to EAT’s new recipe blog. I’m Jenn Danter. I’ll be posting new recipes every other Thursday. Let’s get to know each other: I’m a food writer, recipe developer and food stylist. I love to cook. I really love to eat. Better yet, it’s my pleasure to make it look good too. I am the consummate table-setter: I adore linens, all shapes of plates, funky bowls, old cutlery, bright colours and patterns, odd shaped glassware and anything with texture excites me. In this column I hope to share easy meal ideas, try new dishes and food projects and create a little moment of beauty. Fingers crossed. Looking forward to hearing from you too. Talk to me about what you like (or don’t) and are interested in. Let’s get to it!

Surprise, Surprise

March is full of surprises. It’s the month that brings bursts sunshine and warmth one day, then buckets of rain the next. Or once in a blue moon, even the threat of snow!

Yet there is a subtle shift happening despite the weather…the days are brighter and longer. We start to shed layers, anticipate and actually believe winter is ending. This is also reflected in what we eat and how we cook. I make this dish every spring. It’s a bridge between robust wintry flavours and lighter spring fare. What I like best though, is it’s wrapped up in a papery package: a dinner surprise!

This is a riff on delicate steamed halibut crossed with robust puttanesca sauce. Because this is a “meaty” fish with a thick rich texture, it can handle a robust sauce. Since tomatoes aren’t in season yet, I like to start with oven-roasted tomatoes

Step 1: Roast Tomatoes

Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half (or use wedges of roma tomatoes). Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with sea salt, ground black paper and a sprinkling of fennel seeds. Slow roast in preheated 275F oven until wrinkly and semi-dry – anywhere from 1 to 11/2 hours. Slow roasting intensifies and concentrates flavour.

Halibut Puttanesca

What you need:

Parchment paper

Halibut fillets

Oven roasted tomatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 anchovy fillets, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup chopped pitted black olives

2 Tbsp salted capers, rinsed

What to do:

Fold a large rectangular piece of parchment in half. Cut into a large heart shape

Place fish in centre of right-side heart half. Stir oil with anchovies and garlic. Spoon over fish. Top with capers and olives, pinches of chili flakes and few oven-roasted tomatoes.

Working from one end, begin tightly folding the open edge of paper. Fold over as if you are crimping pastry. Continue folding the paper’s open edge to from a seal. Fasten with a paper clip, if you wish. Place parcel on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 425F oven.

Serve packets on individual plates. Simply slit, inhale aromatic steam, then dive in.