Spicy Summery Baked Halibut Recipe

While cold weather recipes tend to center around hearty soups and stews, summertime is perfect for lighter entrees, such as fish. Halibut, which is a type of flounder, is a firm-fleshed white fish that's often cooked in a bright and buttery lemon sauce. But, developer Kara Barrett feels that it's good to explore other flavor options now and then.

In this recipe, Barrett opts for balsamic vinegar instead of citrus. "The balsamic sauce is sweet and slightly spicy," she says. "The butter gives it gloss and richness and the fresh tomatoes add brightness." Tomatoes also make the dish more colorful, while their slight acidity pairs well with the mild, sweet taste of the halibut. This recipe might just be the perfect way to use up any surplus garden produce if you planted too many tomatoes. Even if yours are standard-sized, they can be used in place of the cherry tomatoes as long as you chop them into smaller pieces.

In addition to the halibut itself, you'll need olive oil for cooking and kosher salt and Aleppo chile flakes for seasoning. To make the sauce, you'll also need butter, balsamic vinegar, and cherry tomatoes. If you like, you can garnish the fish with some fresh herbs, too — we use dill here.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Divide the kosher salt and 1 teaspoon chile flakes between the two sides of the halibut.

Gently brush the filet with the olive oil.

Add the halibut to a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 F.

While the fish is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon butter, the balsamic vinegar, and the remaining chile flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Reduce the sauce until it thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Finish by stirring in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Remove the sauce from the heat.

Stir in the tomatoes. Season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, if desired.

Drizzle the sauce over the fish and garnish with fresh herbs, such as dill, if desired.

If halibut has one drawback, it's that it tends to be fairly expensive — halibut purchased at a fish market may cost over $30 per pound. Fresh fish may not even be an option if you don't live close to the coast or if it's out of season (halibut season usually runs from March to October). While frozen fish tends to be cheaper than fresh, even frozen halibut fillets from Walmart might run over $25 per pound. Tilapia and mahi-mahi are quite a bit cheaper, though, and either of these fish can be used in this recipe as a less-expensive alternative to halibut. The best substitute, however, is cod, which tastes quite similar to halibut at a quarter of the cost.

Yet another idea for enjoying a more budget-friendly version of the dish would be to use the sauce with boneless chicken breasts or pork chops in place of the fish. You could even coat slices of extra-firm silken tofu in potato starch to make a plant-based variation on this recipe

As this halibut dish is light and fresh-tasting, it deserves some equally flavorful sides. You won't want to overwhelm the fish with anything too heavy, so skip the mashed potatoes in favor of a simple green salad with a tangy lemon vinaigrette. If you'd prefer something a bit more out of the box, a charred citrus salad made with oranges and grapefruits would be sure to impress, while a summer BLT pasta salad might let you use up any leftover cherry tomatoes. Coleslaw, too, is a classic seafood side, but in the spirit of exploring new flavor combinations, why not try something a bit different, like grilled cabbage and mango slaw, carrot slaw with honey-mustard dressing, or apple slaw with blue cheese?

You can add starch to your meal with our light and lemony Israeli couscous, while steamed or pan-fried asparagus would also go well with this baked halibut. Balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts echo the flavor of the sauce, as does our one-of-a-kind balsamic-glazed strawberry-tomato pizza.