Grilled Halibut with Jicama Salsa
I'm not a big fan of fish, but this is really good. I quite often just make the salsa, using whatever comes to hand, if I can't find Jicama. I once used an Eddo...its starchy flesh was very good, and the last time I made it I used a white turnip.
I'm not a big fan of fish, but this is really good. I quite often just make the salsa, using whatever comes to hand, if I can't find Jicama. I once used an Eddo...its starchy flesh was very good, and the last time I made it I used a white turnip.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- salsa:
- 1 lime
- 2 (2 oz) halibut filets
- 1 plum tomato diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and sliced thin
- 1 thai red chili sliced thin
- 1 mango diced
- 2 green onions sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon mint sliced thin
- 1 cup jicama sliced thin
- Carbohydrate 31.8424400004863 g
- Cholesterol 18.144 mg
- Fat 7.02121500221322 g
- Fiber 4.30354993764142 g
- Protein 14.1914100001902 g
- Saturated Fat 0.992188500310817 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (342g)
- Sodium 120.497250001778 mg
- Sugar 27.5388900628449 g
- Trans Fat 0.634062500065731 g
- Calories 232 calories
Step-by-step
- Prepare the salsa by combining all diced fruit and vegetables.
- Season with olive oil, lime juice and mint/salt and fresh pepper.
- For halibut, preheat grill pan over medium heat.
- Over medium heat, place a non stick grill pan. Season halibut fillets with salt and pepper and olive oil.
- Add seasoned fish and sear 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- Remove halibut from grill pan and spoon salsa over each filet.
- Serve salsa with other fish, chicken, chips, eggs, etc.
Replacing jicama with a starchy root like eddo or a pungent white turnip shifts the salsa from crisp and aqueous to dense and earthy. Jicama provides a water content close to eighty-six percent, maintaining a distinct crunch that resists wilting under acidic lime juice. Substituting starchy tubers introduces polysaccharides that absorb liquids rather than holding a crisp fracture. Cooks managing texture should dice roots uniformly to two millimeters to match the dice of the plum tomato.
Halibut proteins demand precise thermal control on the grill pan. Searing flesh over medium heat for three to five minutes per side develops a browned crust via the Maillard reaction without drying the interior. Dense white fish turns chalky if internal temperature exceeds 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil applied directly to the fillet rather than the dry metal prevents sticking and ensures even heat transfer across grill ridges.
Fresh mint and sliced chilies degrade rapidly once bruised by a knife blade. Essential oils in mint oxidize within twenty minutes of slicing, dulling the herbal top notes. Combining the salsa ingredients just ten minutes before serving allows the salt to draw out excess moisture from the mango without turning the mixture watery.
Raw preparations rely entirely on the freshness of volatile aromatics. Thai red chilies contain capsaicin that concentrates in the placental membranes, which should be scraped out if heat levels overwhelm the fruit sugars. Storing leftover salsa in an airtight glass container for longer than four hours degrades the bright green hue of the green onions.
