Easy enough for a weeknight dinner but elegant enough for guests, this meal, featuring what I like to call “steak fish,” comes together in less than half an hour. Use halibut, tuna, salmon, monkfish, cod, or swordfish.
Ingredients
- Juice of 1 lemon, preferably a Meyer lemon
- Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Greek
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 10 pitted kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
- 4 fish steaks (see above), each 6 ounces and 1/2 inch thick
Directions
Step 1
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the oregano. Slowly whisk in the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Stir in a few grinds of black pepper. Set aside.
Step 2
Trim the tops and bottoms off the fennel bulbs, reserving some of the green feathery tops. Remove any blemished leaves. Cut the fennel bulbs lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices.
Step 3
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the fennel to the pan; season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the fennel has softened and is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the olives. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.
Step 4
Reheat the skillet over medium-high heat and film the bottom of the pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange the fish steaks in the skillet in a single layer. (Don’t crowd.) Sauté the fish for 5 to 6 minutes on the first side, then turn with a thin-bladed spatula or fish spatula. Continue to cook to your liking (aim for an internal temperature of 140°F; insert an instant-read thermometer probe through the side of the fish).
Step 5
Make a bed of the warm caramelized fennel and olives on a platter. Using a bamboo skewer, poke holes in the fish steaks, each about an inch apart. Arrange the fish steaks on top of the fennel. Re-whisk the lemon and olive oil mixture and drizzle over the fish. Garnish with some of the reserved fennel fronds. Serve immediately.
Serves 4