Braised Halibut with Spinach and Mushrooms

After spending almost all of my food budget in the first half of the month, I knew I had to switch it up for the rest of June.  I took a quick trip to Whole Foods after work today with hopes of stumbling upon something delicious.  There was a sale on Halibut, so I decided that even though I had never made it before, that would be my main course tonight.

Spinach is pretty easy to make so I figured I couldn't go wrong on that.  Especially since Mr. G and I made that while we were in SF.  While waiting on the check-out line, I picked up a Food & Wine magazine.  Lo and behold one of the recipes in there was for Halibut.  I decided that I would do a modified version of the Braised Halibut with Mushrooms and Shrimp recipe.

Braised Halibut with Spinach and Mushrooms
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch of Spinach
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 6-ounce halibut filets
3/4 cup dry white wine for cooking

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Add the spinach, salt and pepper then cover.  After 2 minutes, uncover and mix around, cover again.  Repeat until spinach is wilted, but still very green.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet and, when it's hot, add the sliced mushrooms.  Cook over moderately high heat, stirring a few times, until any liquid evaporates and the mushrooms are browned, about 7 minutes.  Push the mushrooms to the side of the skillet and add 1 more tablespoon of the olive oil.  Ad the sliced garlic and cook over low heat until golden, about 1 minute.  Toss the garlic together with the mushrooms in the skillet and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer the mushrooms to the same pot as the spinach.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet.  Season the halibut with salt and pepper on both sides then add them to the skillet.  Cook over moderate heat for about 2 minutes, then carefully turn the halibut.

Add the white wine, cover and cook until halibut is just white throughout, about 2 more minutes.  Voila!  For added flavor, you can combine the spinach and mushroom in the same skillet as the halibut so the juices run together.  I was too hungry so I plated the fish and added the vegetables.

This was a very quick recipe and did not take long to make at all.
Hungry yet?