Oil-Poached Halibut with Gribiche and Poached Eggs

Photo: From Fish Without a Doubt, Houghton Mifflin 2008

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Poaching the fish in oil leaves the fillets moist and full of flavor.

Recipe from Fish Without a Doubt, Houghton Mifflin 2008.

SERVINGS
4

INGREDIENTS
For the gribiche:
1/2 cup diced tomato
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced cornichons
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 scallion

For the fish:
1 (6- to- 7-ounce) pieces of halibut fillet
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
Olive oil for poaching
Zest of 1 lemon (remove it with a vegetable peeler)

To finish:
2/3 cup minced onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound baby spinach
Coarse salt
4 large eggs, poached

PREPARATION
For the gribiche:
1.Stir the tomato, shallots, cornichons, capers, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Leave it at room temperature for 2 hours. (Or better, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

For the fish:
1. Forty-five minutes to 1 hour before cooking, season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.

2. Heat the oven to 175 degrees.

3. Put the fish in an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold it without crowding. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the fish, then take the fish out and set aside on a plate. Add the lemon zest to the oil and heat it to about 125 degrees (warm enough to feel hot but not burn when you stick your finger in it; or just use a thermometer). Return the fish to the skillet, cover, and slide the pan into the oven. Poach the fish for 25 minutes.

4. Just before serving, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of the oil from the fish and add the onion. Saute, stirring often, until the onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the spinach and saute, stirring constantly, until the spinach wilts. Season it with salt and scrape it into a strainer to drain.

5. Stir the tarragon, parsley, and scallion into the gribiche.

6. Make a bed of spinach on each of four dinner plates. Remove the fish from the oil with a fish spatula and blot it dry with paper towels. Set it on the spinach and place a poached egg on top of each piece. Spoon some gribiche onto each egg and around the plates. Serve it now.

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