Sautéed Halibut with Mushrooms

I am afraid that I don't have much of a story about this recipe.  I made it to maintain my one-seafood-recipe-a-year trend.  And, just like the other two recipes, the recipe was easy, quick, and delicious and made me wonder why I don’t cook with seafood more often.  Then I remembered – it costs a lot.  These halibut filets?  Were embarrassingly expensive.  When I went home and Googled ‘Halibut’ to confirm my assumption that they were made of gold, I discovered the opposite.  They are not made of gold (they are actually quite ugly looking) and they are ginormous.  Which explains their scientific name Hippoglossus.   I love Wikipedia.  When one fish averages 24 – 30 pounds, one would think the cost of four 6-ounce filets would be cheap.  Maybe they cost more because their eyes migrate from one side of their head to another.  (Again, I love Wikipedia.)

Anywho, impress your significant other or just perk yourself up on a random weekday night and make this restaurant-quality dish.  The original recipe called for bass which my grocery store didn’t have so I had to adapt quickly – both to a new fish and to filets with skin on one side.  After a quick call to my omniscient mother, I was good to go with slightly amended instructions. 

Sautéed Halibut with Mushroom Sauce

Generously adapted from Cooking Light

2 teaspoons canola oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 (6-ounce) halibut filets

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons bottled ground ginger

¼ cup water

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the skinless side of fish.  Add fish to the pan, skin side down; cook for two and a half to three minutes on each side or until the fish meat flakes easily with a fork.  Place the fish on a plate and cover to keep it warm.  Add mushrooms and sesame oil to the same pan and sauté for a two minutes.  Add the ginger and garlic to the pan.  Sauté for another minute.  Add the water, soy sauce and lemon juice to the pan and sauté for two minutes.  Arrange each piece of fish on a plate and pour some of the mushrooms with the sauce onto each filet of fish.

Serve with a green salad garnished with citrus fruit and vinaigrette of your choosing.  And a glass of white wine.