Pan fried halibut with creamed peas, spring onion and bacon.

Be bold, be brief, be gone...

I love to eat fish, but it is my nemesis;  I often overcook it.   I like to pan fry, so I can keep an eye on it, cook it quickly, plate and go eat.  This dish is from a recipe in a marvellous book from the restaurant, J Sheekey, called simply, ‘Fish’.

Cook some frozen peas, then put aside.  Then chop and fry in olive oil a shallot.  Add a couple of chopped smoked bacon rashes to the pan and once these have cooked, add the peas and a couple of tablespoons of double cream and about 150mls of vegetable stock.  Give it a stir and then add some chopped scallions (spring onions) and some finely shredded lettuce – (I’ve used iceberg or baby gem lettuce before).  Put the lettuce in the pan last, season and give it all a stir. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat some olive oil or butter and pan fry the halibut on both sides for 3-4 minutes. Squeeze on some lemon juice.  Serve the halibut on top of a couple of tablespoons of the creamed peas. 

The smoked bacon give the dish some depth but not too much to detract from the fish.  The crunch of the scallions and lettuce in the peas give texture.  I served this with chipped potato cubes roasted in garlic and rosemary and also roasted some cherry tomatoes on their vine to put on top.  The dish didn’t photography so well, but tasted good.