Baked Halibut with Orzo, Spinach, and Cherry Tomatoes

I still remember waking up at the crack of dawn to head out fishing on the weekend as a kid. The captain of the boat I worked on was a grand, ungodly, godlike man. There were some harrowing voyages, to be sure. If it weren't for the first officer, Starbuck, I don't even know if I would have made it.

Wait, no. That's Moby Dick. And my name is not Ishmael.

As it happens, despite growing up on the beautiful Monterey Bay, I couldn't swim for the longest time and I hated seafood. Apparently being so close to the actual Cannery Row didn't make its mark on me.

Well now everything's better. These days I try to cook with seafood as often as my time and budget allows. Luckily, time is hardly ever something that precludes fish. Fresh seafood shines when simply prepared. This dish is exactly that.

To begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Also, get a small pot of boiling water going for the pasta.

Now, prepare the dressing by juicing a lemon. You'll need about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, so depending on the size of the lemon, that might be one or two lemons. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, halve your cherry tomatoes and set them aside. Then, mince a clove of garlic. You're now mostly done with the preparation. I said this was easy, right?

The oven should be mostly preheated by this point. Take your fish and put it on a lined baking sheet. Or, if you're like me and you've run out of foil, use a greased nonstick baking tray and hope for the best.

Drizzle the halibut with some of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Put the fish in the oven. It should take 8-12 minutes, depending the thickness of the halibut. It's done when opaque in the center; or when a paring knife slides through easily. 

Cook the pasta in large saucepan of boiling salted water according to the package directions. You want the orzo to be tender but firm to the bite. My orzo was whole wheat, so it was very firm to the bite. But that's what I get for shopping at Whole Foods. Drain and set aside.

In a small skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat and add some of the minced garlic. You can use all or some of it depending on your tolerance for garlic. Cook the garlic for about 10-20 seconds - just long enough to bring out the aroma. 

Then, add your spinach to the pan by the handful. There are quantities listed below, but I usually just keep adding until it looks right - a couple handfuls.

Cook the spinach for just a couple of minutes, turning often to make sure the garlic is distributed evenly. When finished, turn off the heat and add the cherry tomatoes. You really only want to soften the tomatoes.

Add the drained pasta to the spinach and tomatoes and stir to coat. Season with just a little more salt and pepper. Let stand for about a minute. 

Divide the pasta mixture between your plates, creating a bed for the halibut. Top with the cooked halibut. Pour some more dressing over the top, serve and ...

Enjoy!

Some variations that I've played with involve adding just a little bit of crumbled feta cheese to the orzo pasta before plating it. 

Or, if you're feeling indulgent, instead of making a simple olive oil / lemon dressing, prepare a simple lemon cream sauce. For that, you'll need 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 cup chicken stock (or fish stock or clam juice), and 1 cup heavy cream. Put the lemon juice, broth, and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 6-7 ounce halibut fillets

1 cup orzo

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups (packed) baby spinach

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

SERVES 2 (can be halved or doubled depending on your needs)