Seafood Specials: Great Recipes that Help Save Oceans

Recipes from NRDC's home cooks and a few of our chef friends help you take the guesswork out of serving a healthy, feel-good seafood meal.

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Chermoula Halibut with Red Quinoa, Edamame and Shell Bean Salad and Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette

~ Monica Pope, chef/owner, t'afia, Houston

Ingredients

• For the Chermoula Halibut:
• 4 to 6 Pacific halibut fillets (1 per person), 4 to 6 ounces each
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Pinch cayenne
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

• For the Salad
• 1 cup shelled edamame (boiled in salted water for four to five minutes), strained
• 1 cup shell beans (boiled in salted water for 30 to 45 minutes), strained
• 4 cups red quinoa (rinsed until water runs clear and simmered in 2 3/4 cups salted water for 12 to 15 minutes), strained

• For the Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette
• 1/2 a preserved lemon, pulp scooped out, ends trimmed (see note)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/2 tablespoon preserved lemon liquid
• 1/2 cup warm water
• Salt to taste

Note: To make your own quickly preserved lemons, lightly score four lemons all the way around (do not cut through to the flesh) and then boil in 1 cup water, 1 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns and 1/4 cup kosher salt until lemons are soft, approximately 30 minutes.

Tip

Red quinoa is available online through Indian Harvest at indianharvest.com.

Preparation

For the Chermoula Halibut:

1. Whisk chermoula sauce ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Marinate the halibut in the chermoula for one hour in the refrigerator.

For the Salad with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Combine the preserved lemon, garlic and preserved lemon liquid in a blender or food processor.
2. Slowly add the oil and then the warm water. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste.

Serving

1. Bake the halibut in a 350-degree oven until opaque, about five to seven minutes.
2. In a stainless steel bowl, toss cooked edamame, shell beans and quinoa with the preserved lemon vinaigrette.
3. Mound the quinoa salad in the center of the plate. Place the halibut on top of the salad, leaving room around the plate to swizzle the chermoula. You can also spoon some chermoula on top of the halibut.

Serves 4 to 6.

Comments

When it comes to making protein choices on my menu, I know my customers see fish and seafood as a "healthier" choice, but not all seafood is created equal. It's taken a lot of research and education (for me and my customers) to learn how to make the best, most sustainable seafood choices. It's not always easy, but I know that what I am offering my customers is ultimately the healthiest choice, for them and our environment.

More Tasty (and Sustainable) Seafood Recipes

• Baja Fish Tacos with Cabbage Salsa
• Baked Halibut with Three Colored Peppers and Red Bliss and Fingerling Potatoes
• Buttermilk Fried Fresh Anchovies with Harissa
• Catfish Lafitte
• Chermoula Halibut with Red Quinoa, Edamame and Shell Bean Salad with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette
• Firecracker Salmon with Roasted Corn Medley
• Grilled Fresh Sardines with Preserved Lemon Salsa Verde
• Honey Salmon
• Kerala-style Fried Fish
• Krissy T's Wild Salmon
• Pacific Cod Potpies with Dill Biscuit Crust
• Poached Alaskan Halibut, Sweet and Sour Golden and Red Beets, Citrus and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Emulsion
• Seared Farmed Striped Bass with Chive Whipped Potatoes, Truffle Vinaigrette and Hen of the Woods Mushrooms
• Sopa de Pescado
• Steamed Halibut on a Bed of Leeks and Carrots

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