Grilled Halibut over Greens

This easy to make, chef-created Grilled Halibut recipe is plated over local greens with a creamy potato mash, and served with a sweet-tart white truffle vinaigrette for a simply elegant meal.

After dining at the New Leaf Café on Orcas Island, Mr B and I were so taken by the quality of our meal that I asked Chef Steve Debaste if he would be willing to share one of his recipes with us, which he generously agreed to do. This is our adaptation of his recipe for Grilled Halibut over Greens with Verjus White Truffle Vinaigrette. 

This recipe may sound fancy, but it is actually quite easy to prepare. 

Jump to:

• Grilled Halibut Ingredients
• How to Make this Grilled Halibut Recipe
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Top Tip
• FAQ
• Orcas Island Dining & Travel
• More Fresh Fish Recipes
• Grilled Halibut over Greens with White Truffle Vinaigrette

Grilled Halibut Ingredients

We made some minor, but fundamental changes to Chef Debaste's halibut recipe; including adapting the vinaigrette ingredients to be more accessible to the home chef.

Most notably, verjus was a primary ingredient in Chef Debaste's original vinaigrette, but it can be extremely difficult to find. After some experimenting, we found that when made with a dry Sauvignon Blanc, the flavor of the vinaigrette retains the same subtle tartness as when made with verjus.

• Halibut: Fresh halibut fillets should be white and glossy. Avoid fish with flesh that is dull, dry, or has brown spots.
• Local salad greens: Fresh greens, bought or foraged, make a perfect fresh element.
• Butter: Use real, salted butter.
• Pine nuts: With their unique flavor, pine nuts add a rich, crunch.
• Flat-leaf parsley: Flat leaf parsley (or Italian parsley) has a more citrusy, potent flavor than curly parsley. (Curly parsley can also be somewhat bitter.)
• Shallots: Shallots are milder and sweeter than regular yellow or white onions, and the best choice for raw sauces like this one.
• Garlic: As a habitual garlic-doubler myself, I urge you to use just one clove of garlic. Too much garlic will overpower the vinaigrette's subtle flavors.
• Sauvignon Blanc (in place of White Verjus): Verjus is one of those gourmet ingredients that can be hard to find, so we adapted the recipe to use Sauvignon Blanc instead. (If your Sauvignon Blanc is particularly dry, add a pinch of sugar.)
• White wine vinegar (in place of white balsamic vinegar): Another gourmet ingredients, we found white wine vinegar works very well.
• Dijon mustard
• Canola-Olive oil blend: Canola oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil. We do a 1:1 mix.
• White truffle oil: The subtle, elusive flavor of white truffle oil is one that is difficult to reproduce with a substitute; however, if needs be, you can use extra virgin olive oil with good results. (The good news is, white truffle oil a surprisingly handy ingredient to keep in your pantry! In addition to dressings, it's delicious drizzled on homemade pizza, pasta, risotto, and the like.)
• Salt: Use kosher salt.
• Pepper: We use white pepper in this recipe because of its milder flavor; but you can use black pepper if you like.
• Mashed potatoes: You can use whatever mashed potato recipe you like. (Our recipe for creamy Yukon Gold mashed potatoes is included on the recipe card below.)
  • Yukon Golds: The rich, smooth mash that results from these potatoes can't be beat! You can also use russets.
  • Butter
  • Half & half (or cream)
  • Salt & Pepper

Hint: Buy pine nuts in the bulk section to avoid their premium price.

How to Make this Grilled Halibut Recipe

Once the elements of this recipe are made, you can put the meal together in the time it takes to grill the halibut.

Pine Nuts

Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toss in the pine nuts and toast, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown and smell nutty.

Vinaigrette

Process all Vinaigrette ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes.

Place the potato cubes in a medium saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Drain cooked potatoes in a colander, then return them to the saucepan. Add the butter, salt, and pepper, and use a potato masher to mash them.

Once the butter has completely melted and some of the moisture from the potatoes has evaporated, begin stirring in the half and half. Continue adding liquid until the mashed potatoes reach a thick, creamy consistency.

Halibut

Brush the halibut with a melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Daub a paper towel in canola or avocado oil, and use tongs to wipe it on the grate of your grill. This will help keep the halibut from sticking.

Place seasoned fish on the hot grill and cook until bottom of the fillet begins to turn opaque; about 5 minutes. (You should be able to slide a spatula under it with little resistance.)

Flip the fish and continue cooking until it can be flaked with a fork and is opaque almost all the way through; about 3-5 minutes more.

When done, halibut should register 130-135°F (54-57°C) on an instant-read thermometer. 

Transfer fish to a platter and rest for 5 minutes, then plate.

Plating & Serving

Gently toss the salad greens in enough vinaigrette to coat.

Plate a cup of mashed potatoes in the center of your dinner plate. Place the dressed greens on the mashed potatoes.

Place the grilled halibut on the salad greens and brush with melted butter.

Garnish the plate with a circle of vinaigrette around the potatoes and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Substitutions

Halibut: This recipe can also be made with any meaty white fish of your choice. True cod makes a particularly good stand-in.

White Truffle Oil: If you don't have a bottle of truffle oil on hand, you can substitute extra virgin olive oil and a dash of truffle salt. Truffle salt can be made at home by pulsing together a little porcini mushroom powder (or any dried mushroom from the store) and salt.

Shallots: Shallots are milder and sweeter than regular yellow or white onions; however, we found you can use a quarter of a mild sweet onion in this recipe with good results.

Pine nuts: You can also use chopped, toasted hazelnuts.

Equipment

Grill pan: You can certainly grill the halibut outside on a barbecue grill, but in the colder months, we prefer to use a stovetop cast iron grill.

Fish turner: This flexible, elongated, slotted spatula is one of those kitchen gadgets I put off getting for the longest time, but now that I have one, I don't know how I lived without it. A fish spatula is great for lifting, turning and transferring whole fish, as well as cookies, pancakes, french toast, and more.

Top Tip

This smart, elegant grilled halibut recipe makes a complete main course, and is perfect for entertaining. You can prepare most of the elements ahead of time (i.e., vinaigrette, potatoes, toasted pine nuts). When you are ready to serve, simply reheat the potatoes in the microwave, and put the meal together in the time it takes to grill the halibut.

FAQ

Halibut season begins in early May in the Pacific Northwest. Not only is halibut a delicious fish to eat, but it provides many health benefits as well.

Orcas Island Dining & Travel

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More Fresh Fish Recipes

Hint: If you're looking for more delicious, easy recipes for entertaining, you can't beat Honey Glazed Salmon!

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Originally published May 6, 2016. This post has been updated with new images, content, and recipe instructions to improve reader experience.