Baked Halibut with White Wine, Olives, Capers and Tomatoes
This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell and were originally published at Table and Dish.
Looking for a fantastic dinner recipe? This dish delivers. This baked halibut starts with a beautiful fillet from Heinen’s Seafood Department. When shopping for halibut look for bright white, glossy flesh. That’s exactly what I found.
This dish is slightly reminiscent of a puttanesca. You may have enjoyed spaghetti alla puttanesca which is an Italian pasta dish invented in Naples in the mid-20th century. Its ingredients typically include tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, olives, capers and garlic. Yum! Why wouldn’t you put those ingredients in other things? I’ve made it with various white flesh fishes and shrimp, even clams and mussels. SO, feel free to change up this recipe with your favorite protein. You can serve this with any starch you prefer. It is great with mashed potatoes but today I served it with linguini to mimic a puttanesca dish.
This dish has power! After making it and serving it for dinner I sent a photo of it to my son who attends college in Washington DC. I teased that he should come home because he was missing out on a great dinner. Well, yesterday I came home from shopping and as usual, I walked into the kitchen to greet my two youngest who were working on their homework at the kitchen counter. They had guilty looks on their faces and seemed to be waiting for me to realize what they had been up to. All of a sudden it dawned on me that the music I was hearing was coming from the piano in the living room. Only one of my kids plays the piano! I ran into the living room to find my sweet son who had pulled off the most amazing surprise. I’m NOT kidding — generally, nothing gets past me. Paul managed to pull off flying home without his parents having a clue. Maybe it was the baked halibut that tempted him to come home? Whatever it was, I’m beyond thrilled to have him here.
It goes into the oven looking just like this. Simply move some of those ingredients over and place the fillets on the bottom of the pan. Spoon some of the ingredients and sauce onto the fish. All those delicious juices you made with the tomatoes, white wine, olives, capers, shallots and garlic will bake with the halibut to create an amazing flavor.
You’ll see that I have only seasoned with pepper as the capers and olives lend plenty of salt to this dish. The shallots add a mild onion flavor without overpowering the dish. Keep your heat at medium so you don’t burn your shallots or garlic. Once they soften you can move on to the next step.
Baked Halibut with White Wine, Olives, Capers and Tomatoes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 10 ounces grape tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, divided
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 1/2 pounds thick-cut halibut fillet, de-boned
- 3 sprigs oregano, leaves only
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a cast-iron pan on medium heat, drizzle a little EVOO. Add the shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
Once tomatoes start to soften, very carefully smash them using a potato masher. Don’t smash them too much, just enough to release their juices. Stir and season with pepper. - Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of the white wine, scraping up any brown bits. Cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly. Add in the capers and olives.
- Make a little space in the middle of the pan for the fish to sit. Place the fish in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add oregano leaves. Scoop some of the tomato mixture over fish and top with 1 sprig of oregano. Add in the remaining 1/4 cup of white wine around the fish.
- Place in the oven, uncovered, to bake for 20 minutes or until cooked to your preferred doneness. Serve hot.
I never left a comment on a recipe but I was surprised how there isn’t any for this absolutely delicious and perfect recipe. It’s 100% healthy so yummy , very easy to make, it’s done quickly and doesn’t leave a mess in ur kitchen! A must try!
We are so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Patricia! Thank you for sharing your feedback.
This was excellent!! I always overcook fish and it’s just not my thing. I followed you recipe (minus capers and olives) and it was perfect.
We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Chauncey! Thank you for sharing your feedback.
I made this recipe with some fresh cobia. In an instant, it brought me back to my grandmother, Carmella’s, kitchen many years ago. Fabulous recipe. Delicious and so easy. Thank you.
We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Beatrice! Thank you for sharing this feedback with us.
I want to try this recipe ! Is it possible to make the sauce ahead and reheat ? My timing with guests is always off !!!!
Hi Elaine, since this recipe finishes baking in the oven we think it would be okay to make the sauce ahead of time.
Delicious and super easy and would work for many other types of fish (cod, sea bass, etc.) Only change for next time: might sub fresh thyme for the oregano. PERFECT for a weeknight. Make sure you serve with bread to soak up the wonderful sauce.
Delicious, easy, and so authentic! The olives and capers make it. We were so thrilled, despite having to use a different white fish on hand (still came out beautifully!).
Hearing of Heinen’s makes me wish I could visit. I attended Oberlin in the 1980s and know your place would be a GEM. Thank you, Heinen’s!
P.S. Follow the recipe just as recommended. It turns out that beautiful…and delicious!!
Loved the story of your son coming home for this dish: he knows!! I said to my husband as I pulled it from the oven, “This feels so authentically Italian.” Thank you for gracing our kitchen in this way!!
Amazing delicious recipe that is also beautiful to serve to guests. Thank you!
What wine would you suggest to accompany this beauty?
Delicious. I didn’t have capers, so I added artichoke hearts with the olives. It gave me an excuse to use my cast iron, and the clean up was minimal. This is a wonderful recipe that could be adapted to proteins.