Hash Brown Crusted Halibut with Mango Salsa

I saw this halibut recipe on an episode of The Kitchen and knew that it was a great opportunity to try for Lent.  I can’t count the number of times that hash browns, home fries, or American fried potatoes have been a part of our fish meals – so it was a natural for me  to put them together.   And of course fruit salsas are great with fish.

I made the Halibut the way that the recipe indicates but I thought I was in the mood for more of a Mexican twist for the salsa so I decided to take the mango idea and go my own way.  I came up with a pretty tasty mango corn salsa.  It turned out that by blending up some of the salsa, I was able to make it do double duty and great a really nice sauce too. You know, the fancy kind you can swipe on the bottom of the plate to make it look fancy?  And of course it tastes great too.

Here’s what you need:

Cooking the fish will go relatively quickly, so we’ll start by making the salsa.  Since Lent happens in the late winter/early spring in Minnesota, it’s pretty hard to get fresh sweet corn.  So I substituted frozen corn.  I like to roast the thawed corn in a dry skillet to give it a little color – this step is optional.

To make the salsa we’re going to mix together a diced mango, corn, diced red onion, half a minced jalapeno, salt, lime juice, and some chopped cilantro.

Mix the salsa together.  If you’d like to make some sauce for the salsa, blend a cup of the salsa with a tablespoon or two of water in a small hand blender.  Add a little more water as needed to thin.

Set the salsa aside and move on to the fish.

You want halibut fillets that are about a half inch thick.  I had two thick pieces so I filleted them in half before seasoning them with salt, pepper and a little bit of granulated garlic.

Next you want to take 2 cups of hash browns (preshredded refrigerated potatoes work great in this recipe) and compress them between two paper towels.  You are trying to flatten them to be the overall size of the fillets. Cut into 4 pieces about the size of the fillets.

Whisk an egg in a shallow bowl and dip one size of the fish into the egg.

Next you’re going to gently place the hashbrown “slices” on top of each fillet of fish. Gently press down and adjust the size as needed.

Pour some melted butter and a little vegetable oil into a cold non-stick skillet.  The addition of the oil will raise the temperature of the butter before it will burn.  Place the fish, hash brown side down, into the pan.  Turn the heat on to medium-low.

Cook until the hashbrowns are golden brown and carefully flip with a fish spatula (#CommissionsEarned).  Cook until the fish registers 125 degrees which took about 3 more minutes for me.

To serve, spoon some of the pureed mango salsa on the bottom of your plate.  Top with fish and spoon over the mango salsa.

Enjoy while it’s hot.

Gravel & Dine

Hash Brown Crusted Halibut with Mango Salsa

A fun way to serve your fish and potatoes, cooked together in one fun dish and topped with a fresh mango and corn salsa that doubles as a sauce.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Total Time 33 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 c corn cut off the cob or thawed from frozen
• 1 mango diced
• ½ c red onion diced
• ½ jalapeno minced
• Salt
• Lime juice of 1
• Cilantro chopped about ¼ c
• 4 skinless halibut fillets ½ inch thick, 3-4 ounces each
• Salt & pepper
• Granulated garlic
• 2 c refrigerated shredded hash browns
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 T butter melted
• 1 oil

Method

 

1. Optional: If using frozen corn, cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat in a dry skillet to give it a little color and roasted flavor.
2. In a medium bowl mix together, corn, mango, onion, jalapeno, a pinch of salt, half the lime juice and cilantro. Stir together and taste. Add more salt or lime juice based on your preference.
3. Take 1 cup of the salsa and blend it with 1-2 T of water in a small blender until it forms a thick sauce.
4. Set aside salsa and sauce.
5. Season halibut with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and granulated garlic.
6. Press hash browns between two paper towels into a compact layer about the size of the fish. Cut into 4 “slices” that match the size of the fish.
7. Dip one side of each fillet into the egg. Press a hash brown top onto each piece of fish.
8. Add melted butter and oil to a cold nonstick skillet. Place fish in hash brown side down. Cook over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes until hash browns are golden brown. Gently flip with a fish turner and cook until the fish reaches 125 degrees about 3 minutes.
9. To serve, spread some of the sauce on the bottom of the plate, set a piece of fish on top of the sauce, top with mango salsa.