Halibut With Pickled Onion Garnish by - A Mediterranean Gourmet.

Prep time 10 min cook time 6 min

A delicious flaky white fish, char-grilled to perfection, garnished with pickled red onions.

This is a real Gourmet Quickie and is my take on a dish I first had in Tokyo. Like many Japanese dishes there was something very Zen about its simplicity and presentation.

Red onions lose their pungent taste when they are pickled, even for only 10 minutes and they are transformed into a wonderful sweet and sour relish, similar to the pickled ginger slices you often get with sushi.

I also dress the dish with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon and Nigella seeds. The seeds are optional and the dish works equally well without them. I keep a jar of seeds in the fridge for my go-to Egyptian feta cheese and tomato dip when I need an impromptu dish to serve to drop-in guests. Called “blessed seeds” in Arabic (habet el baraka) they do add a delicate and intriguing smokey onion flavor to the dish.

What you need ( for two portions)
Two 6 oz filets of any firm flaky fish that can be grilled or seared (cod, halibut, snapper or mahi mahi).
1/4 Red onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tsp of Nigella seeds or black sesame seeds.
Salt

What to do

Slice the onions as thin as you can and soak them in a quarter cup of red wine vinegar.
Mix oil and lemon dressing (with nigella seeds) and set aside.
Pat dry the fish and add salt pepper to both sides.
Grill or sear the fish. (Depending on the fish, 3 minutes each side should do it.)
Plate each fish portion dress with oil and lemon and garnish with the pickled onions.

Pairs well with plain rice, asparagus, snow peas or broccolini.