Recipe from Erin French
Adapted by Tejal Rao
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(318)
- Notes
- Read community notes
What if salade niçoise wasn't a salad at all, but a warmer, heftier dish with a beautiful piece of butter-browned halibut right at its center? Erin French, the chef at the Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Me., does just that with her Maine halibut niçoise, in which the main components of a classic niçoise are accounted for, but totally reconfigured. Beans and new potatoes are in a simple shallot dressing; eggs are poached so the yolks are still soft and runny; garlic and anchovies season a quick tapenade. If your cast-iron pan fits only two fillets comfortably, cook the fish in two batches to avoid overcrowding. —Tejal Rao
Featured in: How Erin French Made a Tiny Maine Town a Dining Destination
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Salt, as needed
- ½pound green beans, trimmed
- 1pound baby or new potatoes
- ½cup mixed kalamata and green olives, pitted and finely chopped
- 1anchovy fillet, finely chopped
- 1garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 2tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 4tablespoons olive oil
- Ground black pepper, as needed
- 1large ripe heirloom tomato, cut into 8 wedges
- 4eggs
- 4halibut fillets (about ½ pound each)
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1head bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1lemon, halved
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
596 calories; 29 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 53 grams protein; 1376 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
See AlsoThe Easiest Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe37 Perfect Christmas Dinner Recipe Ideas from Appetizers to DessertsChicken Asparagus Bake Recipe - Simply StacieDirty Cauliflower Rice: 5-Ingredient Kid-Friendly Healthy Recipe1
Fill a large pot with water, season generously with salt, and bring to a boil. In the sink, prepare a bowl full of cold water and ice. Add green beans to the pot and cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and transfer to ice water.
Step
2
Add potatoes to the pot of hot water and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Leave the smaller potatoes whole, and halve or quarter any larger ones so they’re bite-size.
Step
3
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix olives, anchovy and garlic, and set aside. In a large bowl, mix shallots and rice wine vinegar, and let stand for 20 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and a few turns of ground black pepper. Drain and add green beans, along with potatoes and tomato wedges, and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Step
4
Fill a 12-inch skillet with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Crack each egg into a small bowl and fish out any pieces of shell. Slide eggs into the water and poach until white is set and yolk is still soft, about 3 minutes. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of warm water until ready to plate.
Step
5
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet, ideally cast iron, over high heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Pat the halibut dry with a paper towel and season all over with salt and pepper. Add fillets to hot pan, skin-side down, leaving at least 2 inches between each. (Cook fish in 2 pans or in 2 batches if needed.)
Step
6
Let fish cook until it releases easily from the pan, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip fillets, add butter to pan and transfer to the oven. After 2 minutes, baste fish with melted butter, then return to oven until it’s just cooked through, slightly firm and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Step
7
Divide lettuce among four plates, and top with dressed beans, potatoes and tomato. Add fish and top each fillet with a poached egg. Drizzle over any extra pan juice from the fish, along with a spoonful of the olive-anchovy mixture. Squeeze lemon juice over each plate and eat immediately.
Ratings
4
out of 5
318
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Gustavus Inn at Glacier Bay
On the SE coast of Alaska, we have halibut grounds in the front yard. We serve Halibut Caddy Ganty, seafood chowder, halibut burgers and make stock from the bones.
We have a lovely Inn in Glacier Bay Alaska serving local garden and ocean harvest dinners, in this fashion in the summer. We are retiring this year after 40 years and are
looking for new owners. Gustavus Inn was the James' Beard America's Classic 2010.
Louisanova
Lovely that this appeared the same day as notice of Judith Jone's passing. We'll make it this weekend to honor her memory. One can guess she would have loved the Lost Kitchen, and Erin French. Thank you!
Charles
I used Grouper, it was a good stand in for Halibut and not nearly as pricey.
Sooz
Made it for 4 guests (w black cod caught by my son-in-law). Divine, plus a visual treat! 2 poached eggs, 2 w/o, dietary issues. Next time will make more tapenade; we were fighting over it. Also figured out that everything but the fish can be prepared ahead. Will do that next time, possibly tonight. Fresh tomatoes are a lovely excuse.
Karen Artiaco
My 8 yr old son and I stayed with you 30 years ago. I still remember fondly your hospitality, your charming inn, AND the amazing food! There was delicious fresh halibut and King crab fresh from the strait, and wonderful vegetables from your garden. I wish you a long, healthy, retirement. And I hope you have found buyers who will continue the magic and quality of Gustavus Inn.
Mark B
I have an idea: cut the portions in half
julibelle
Now THAT'S a beautiful recipe/dish!
Taylor
Used haddock. Fish delicious, nicoise salad less delish but a nice combo together. The lemon is a needed finish.
MetroJ
Perfect recipe as is; I used my silicone forms for the poached eggs. Recipe works well divided in half, but with the full portion of tapenade (too delicious to cut in half!).
Gina
Wow! Really good. I topped the dish with assorted herbs from my herb garden and would do that again. Keeping the poached egg warm in warm water - what a great idea. The skin of the halibut was so crispy - super.
Therese
Lovely recipe. One time-saving suggestion: poach the eggs in the potato/bean water. Saves you another pan and imbues flavor into the eggs.
Jennie
This is elegant, and will serve 3 of us for two meals) and I cut the ingredients by 1/4). Like so many, I soft-boiled the eggs for ease.
Jen
I subbed arugula in for the bib lettuce and asparagus for the green beans. Delicious!
P. Howard
Used method to cook halibut for tacos.
Eugene
Beautiful recipe. Halibut works really well in this version of the Niçoise. Poached egg on top is a must.The only thing is that I would reduce the amount of onion. 2 tbsp is too overwhelming. One would be enough.
Susan O.
So good. Halibut tasted wonderful cooked on the grill and added to salad. Left out anchovies and went with soft boiled eggs to simplify cooking. I didn't salt dish because my olives were so salty. Everyone was happy. Thank you!
Schmincke
Everything sounds fantastic except the runny eggs.
KT
This is an excellent recipe. I added a bit of lemon juice to the anchovies and olives for the topping and hard boiled two eggs to make a few slices for garnish for each of the four servings. It was inhaled by our guests. Will definitely make again. The technique of the anchovies and olives as a topping at the last ensured the bold flavors are front and center.
ALA
Use hard boiled eggs
Faye
excellent way to cook Halibut whether you make the salad or not...
Richard Levy
I make this recipe with Halibut, but instead of a poached egg I hardboiled egg and put 2 quarters on each plate, with the addition of an edible flower. Prettier and not quite so rich. Yesterday I made this recipe for a dinner party with salmon instead of halibut. I put smoked sardines in the topping instead of anchovies. Again, all delicious and very pretty.
Elle
This sounds lovely, but I do question the 1/2-lb. of halibut coupled with the egg. That is a lot of protein and a very large serving coupled with the veggies.
Private notes are only visible to you.
