walnut-hazelnut crusted halibut
This is a great dish to start fall off with! I always pair it with my cous cous cooked inside of a pumpkin
1.75 lbs halibut, skin removed. Slice into 4 even fillets
olive oil
1.5 cups shelled, halved walnuts
1 cup hazelnuts
1 orange, roughly zested
1/4 cup fresh italian leaf parsely
salt/pepper
1 tsp garam masala (blend of traditional indian spices)
Preheat oven to 425°
Lightly olive oil a baking dish and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse nuts, 3/4 of orange zest and parsley. Be sure to do short, pulses on the processor keeping a close eye on the mixture. Only pulse until mixture is evenly chopped to a meal consistency. Chopping too finely will quickly turn from a crumble to a paste due to the nut-oil content.
Transfer mixture to a wide, shallow bowl and set aside.
Toss halibut fillets lightly in olive oil. Press each fillet into the nut mixture and lay in the greased baking pan, giving room in between each. Press leftover nut mixture into sides and tops of fillets to create a solid crust. Just cover until the flesh cannot be seen through. Season the tops with salt/pepper. Sprinkle with garam masala. Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the thickest part of the fillet reaches 130°
Remove with a fish spatula, carefully so the fillets do not break apart.
Serve, garnished with remaining orange zest.
