Baked Halibut with Meyer Lemon + Fennel Salsa Verde

I recently joined forces with my talented friend, Anika, on a late spring supper. Our menu highlighted peak-season produce and food that was simply prepared yet incredibly flavorful. Anika did an amazing job tying the table + florals together with the food and I’m excited to share the first of three recipes I developed — this one stole the show!

This is one of those dishes that I could have over and over and over again — it’s fresh, light and absolutely perfect for al fresco dinners on warm spring + summer nights!

I love cooking this for guests because you can make the salsa verde in the morning and the fish cooks in no time right before you eat! Perfect for easy entertaining. Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove green garlic (or white garlic), minced

• 1.5 Tbsp white wine vinegar

• 2 meyer lemons, divided

• Leaves + tender stems from 1 bunch parsley

• 1 bunch (~6) green onions; we will just use the green part

• 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, minced

• 1/2 cup EVOO

• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

• Kosher salt

• 1.5 lbs halibut or any mild white fish (i.e. cod)

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Micro greens or fresh herbs to finish (optional)

METHOD

1. Make the salsa verde:

   1. In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic with the vinegar and juice from one of the meyer lemons. Allow to macerate for 10 minutes to mute the raw garlic flavor.

   2. In a food processor, pulse the parsley, green stalks from the green onions, jalapeno and the garlic/vinegar/lemon juice mixture until the herbs are finely minced. You may need to scrape the food processor down a few times to get everything really finely + evenly minced.

   3. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil until all of it has been added and you have a relatively loose mixture.

   4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Thinly slice the remaining meyer lemon (I cut them into half, then each half into fourths and slice into thin pieces - skin and all!). Fold in the thinly sliced fennel and meyer lemon along with ~3/4 tsp of salt (you can add additional kosher salt, to taste) and set aside. NOTE: if you’re doing this ahead, gently pour a thin layer of olive oil to cover the surface of the salsa verde, then press plastic wrap against it to make contact with the full surface are of the salsa verde. Store in the fridge (can do this the morning of).

2. Cook the fish:

   1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the fish on all sides with salt and pepper and transfer to a baking sheet.

   2. Transfer the fish to the oven to cook for 8-12 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Cook time will vary based on the thickness of your fish.

3. Transfer the fish to a serving platter and drizzle with the salsa verde mixture along with some micro greens or fresh herbs to finish (optional). Enjoy!