Pan-seared halibut with grapefruit avocado salsa

By Lee Leschper

We love finding new recipes that make a star of our favorite catches from the Alaska summer.

This is one, borrowed from Julia Levy, on Real Simple.  She sadly offered this for tilapia, a fish no Alaskan would eat. But we’ve used it this week both with halibut and black rockfish from Resurrection Bay trips and it’s pretty fabulous.  With either Alaska bottom fish, pan-seared just 90 seconds to a side in avocado oil, you can’t go wrong. We also played with the salsa/salad, leaving out the pepitas and add shaved jalapenos and crushed red pepper.

We also substitued cups of grapefruit from Costco, which was both faster and easier.  Enjoy

Ingredients

2 medium red grapefruits

2 medium ripe avocados, diced

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

¼ cup roasted, salted pepitas

¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems

¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil, divided

1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon black pepper, divided

4 6-oz. boneless, skinless halibut or rockfish fillets

Step 1
Peel and segment grapefruit over a bowl, reserving juice. Gently combine grapefruit segments, avocados, shallot, pepitas, cilantro, 2 tablespoons reserved grapefruit juice, 2 tablespoons oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl.

Step 2
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Season fish with remaining ½ teaspoon pepper and ¾ teaspoon salt. We like some Cajun seasoning too. Reduce heat to medium and cook 2 fillets until golden and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 fillets. Serve fish with large side of grapefruit salsa.