Pan-Fried Wild Scottish Halibut in a Brown Shrimp Butter Sauce for an Elegant Lunch

Pan-Fried Wild Halibut in a Brown Shrimp Butter

Pan-Fried Wild Scottish Halibut in a Brown Shrimp Butter Sauce

for an Elegant Lunch

– Fish on Friday –

Here I am again with my regular Fish on Friday post, and it does seem that the past week has whizzed past so quickly……maybe because at last we seem to have had wonderful sunny spring days and I have been out in the garden, just pottering, as one does in the garden…….pondering on herbs to be planted and plants to be moved, as well as taking cuttings from some of my soft fruit bushes – it’s been blissful planning whilst forgetting about all the hard work that will ensue!  Meals have taken on a lighter feel as the temperatures have soared, and when I was deciding what fishy dish I would like to cook this Friday, I remembered that I had some beautiful wild Scottish halibut in the freezer;  halibut is one of my all time favourites, so soft with a subtle nutty flavour, a fabulous fish and best served simply as not to mask its fishy beauty. Halibut can be purchased as steaks or fillets, but it was halibut fillets that I was lucky enough to have, kindly sent to me as part of a fish box a few weeks ago by John from Delish Fish.

Pan-Fried Wild Halibut with Brown Shrimp Butter Sauce

This is one of my new fish recipes that I have been developing, and I am rather pleased with it; not only have I got fabulous wild halibut in this dish, but also brown shrimps – and I LOVE these sweet little seafood treats. I usually make potted shrimps when I manage to get hold of them, but these were just wonderful when added to a rich butter sauce that was then drizzled over my halibut fillets,  a fishy treat indeed. As this was a light and rather elegant luncheon dish, I just served it with frisée lettuce and a hazelnut oil dressing, divine! You could of course serve some lightly steamed seasonal greens with this fish, and maybe some new potatoes would be nice too.

Wild Scottish Halibut Fillets served with Brown Shrimp Butter Sauce

I think this would be a perfect dish for a romantic meal, or even for a lovely celebratory lunch,  served with crisp white wine and even crisper white linen of course…….if you are not a lover of chives, then by all means use lovely fresh, curly parsley instead.  I have another fishy post for later on in the day, a double fish on Friday feast, so I will leave you for now and see you later, Karen.

Pan-Fried Wild Halibut with Brown Shrimps

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Serves	2
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	10 minutes
Total time	15 minutes
Allergy	Fish
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Gourmet, Serve Cold
Occasion	Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A sophisticated and elegant meal for two; wild Scottish halibut fillets are pan-fried and served with a brown shrimp and chive butter sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 wild halibut fillets, skinned (about 180g to 200g per fillet; total weight of 360g to 400g)
• 50g butter (divided into 2 x 25g portions)
• 100g cooked, peeled brown shrimps
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 lemon wedges to serve

Note

A splash of white wine can be added in place of the lemon juice; for special occasions I have added champagne to the butter sauce for a touch of decadent  luxury. Wild halibut steaks can be used instead of fillets, but the cooking time needs to be increased by 3 to 4 minutes each side, dependant on thickness and weight.

Directions

Step 1	Heat one of the portions of butter in a large frying pan, large enough to hold the two halibut fillets with ease.
Step 2	When the butter is hot, add the halibut fillets and cook for 2 to 3 minutes before turning over and cooking for a further 2 to 3 minutes on the other side, depending on thickness and size. Carefully take the fillets out of the pan and keep warm.
Step 3	Add the second portion of butter and increase the heat; add the chopped chives and lemon juice, and cook over high heat until the butter is bubbling, about 2 minutes, Then add the brown shrimps and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes until the shrimps are heated through.
Step 4	Place the halibut fillets on to warm plates and spoon the brown shrimp butter sauce over the fish. Serve with salad leaves, steamed potatoes or seasonal greens and a wedge of lemon.

Elegant and special, wild Scottish halibut with brown shrimps

Pan-Fried Halibut in a Brown Shrimp and Butter Sauce