Pan-Seared Halibut with Salsa Verde and Lemon-Braised White Beans

Crisp-skinned fish over creamy beans, blanketed in a raw green herb sauce that tastes like a garden in vinegar.

⏱ 30 min · easy · 🍽 serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 halibut fillets, 6 oz each, skin on, patted bone-dry
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed or avocado)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh dill fronds
• 1 tbsp capers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1 anchovy fillet, minced (optional but recommended)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• Pinch of chili flakes

Steps

1. Pull the halibut from the fridge, salt both sides generously, and set on a rack skin-side up to air-dry while you work — dry skin is crisp skin.
2. Finely chop the parsley, basil, mint, and dill by hand (a food processor bruises them into sludge). Scrape into a bowl with the capers, garlic, anchovy, Dijon, and vinegar. Stir in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and let it sit — it gets better every minute.
3. Warm 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the shallot with a pinch of salt and the chili flakes for 3 minutes until soft, not colored. Add the beans and stock, simmer 8 minutes, crushing a few beans against the side of the pot to thicken the liquid into a loose, creamy braise. Finish with lemon zest and a squeeze of juice; keep warm.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Blot the halibut skin one last time, then lay it in the pan skin-side down, pressing gently with a spatula for 20 seconds so it doesn't curl.
5. Cook undisturbed 4–5 minutes until the skin releases on its own and the flesh is opaque two-thirds up the side. Add the butter, flip, and baste for 60–90 seconds. Pull at 130°F — it will carry over. Rest 3 minutes.
6. Spoon the beans into warm shallow bowls, set the halibut on top skin-side up, and spoon the salsa verde over the fish and around the beans. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and flaky salt.