• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Two Cups of Health

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Appetizers
    • Dinners
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Poultry
    • beef
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Clarify Butter the Easy Way
  • Gardening
    • Starting a Chef’s Garden
    • Companion Planting Secrets for an Abundant Harvest
  • Natural Health
    • Can’t Sleep? These 10 Foods Can Help!
    • Experiencing Memory Loss? Try Blueberries
    • Diaphragmatic Breathing
  • Resources
    • Great Resources
    • Cooking Classes You’ll Love
    • Comparison of the Best Email Marketing Services
    • Knife Skills
    • Site Map
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Dinners / Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce

April 27, 2022 by Pam

Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce is a dish you would order in a fine French restaurant and yet it’s so easy to prepare.

Baked halibut with lemon slices on a bed of tarragon cream sauce

The inspiration for this dish came from Lavendou, a wonderful French restaurant in Dallas. No, I didn’t have halibut, I had Filet of Sole with a rich butter sauce and my husband had Arctic Char with a creamy pepper sauce. And I began to think about these sauces and how they really make a simple dish unbelievably great.

So I substituted the sole for rich and wonderful halibut. Always a treat. And I knew that a creamy Tarragon butter sauce would be perfect with it.  After all the French often use cream, butter, wine, mustard, shallots and herbs in their dishes, so that combination would be what this halibut would need to make it even better.

I think once you make this baked halibut, you’ll make again and again. Why? Lots of reasons. First, it melts in your mouth with silky deliciousness. Next, it’s a menu item you would expect to find at the finest restaurants in Paris. And, finally, here comes the best reason: It’s so incredibly easy and quick to make. In fact you can prepare this dish in under 15 minutes.

Think about it. In less time than it takes to order a pizza or make Mac and cheese, you can serve this restaurant-worthy dinner.

The secret is to start with a great white fish. I used halibut because I absolutely love it. It’s an incredibly decadent and rich tasting fish. But the truth is halibut’s pretty expensive. So feel free to substitute another type of fish.

So let’s make it.

Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce Pinterest Pin

Ingredients for Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce

  • Halibut: The Star of the Show
  • Sea salt: For flavor
  • Pepper: For a touch of spiciness
  • Shallots: For more flavor
  • Ghee: Clarified Butter for a high smoking point to sauté the fillets and the shallots
  • Wine: The tang of the wine really makes this sauce
  • Tarragon: For a slightly minty, licorice taste
  • Butter: To add rich emulsification to the sauce
  • Creme Fraiche: The French clotted Cream that is perfect in this sauce
  • Dijon Mustard: The spicy king of mustards

How to Make Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce

First preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

Then add 2 Tsp of the ghee to an oven proof frypan over medium high heat. Lightly salt and pepper both sides of the halibut fillets and add them to the hot pan. Let them cook for about 3 minutes without turning them over.

Add the pan to the oven and let the fish bake for 4 minutes. When time is up remove the pan from the oven, flip the fillets over and add to a plate. Then cover them with foil to keep them warm.

Next it’s time to make the sauce. Just add the remaining 1 Tsp of ghee to the same frypan you baked the fillets in and turn the heat to medium high.

Then when hot add the minced shallots. Let them caramelize about 1-2 minutes, then add the white wine to deglaze the pan along with the Tarragon.

shallots sautéing in a pan

Continue to cook the sauce for another 3 minutes to reduce the sauce. Then whisk in the butter a bit at a time and continue to whisk as you add in the Creme Fraiche and the Dijon Mustard.

Your sauce is almost done. At this point you’ll notice that it’s still a bit chunky. To make it silky smooth just put a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the sauce into the sieve. 

Tarragon cream sauce in a sieve to make it silky smooth

With a rubber spatula, press the sauce through the sieve. Be sure to scrape off the extra sauce at the bottom of the sieve. You don’t want to lose any of the wonderful sauce.

To plate the halibut, spoon a generous Tbsp into your serving plate and spread the sauce with the back of the spoon. Then add a halibut fillet on top of the sauce. Finish it with additional minced Tarragon leaves and serve.

Baked halibut over Tarragon Cream Sauce with asparagus and melons on a white plate

Notes on the Ingredients

As I mentioned earlier, you certainly can substitute other fish for the halibut. For instance cod could substitute nicely. The cooking times, though, will vary depending on the thickness of your fish. In this recipe the halibut was over 1/2” thick. You can usually find cod at this same thickness, but If it’s a thinner fillet, just take a minute off the baking time. You never want to overcook fish.

For those who would prefer not to have the wine, you can substitute chicken broth. The flavor will be a little different. With chicken broth, even with low sodium, you’ll find that the sauce will be a little saltier and the flavor will be more subtle.

The ghee is easily found in most grocery stores. My go-to place for ghee is Trader Joe’s. The quality is excellent and the price is right. I always keep a stock on hand.

Baked halibut with lemon slices on a bed of tarragon cream sauce
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Baked Halibut with Tarragon Cream Sauce is a dish you would order in a fine French restaurant and yet it’s so easy to prepare.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked halibut, halibut, halibut recipe
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 318kcal
Author: Pam - Two Cups of Health

Ingredients

  • 8 Oz Halibut fillet Cut in half
  • 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt Prefer Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Ghee
  • 1 Shallot Minced
  • 1/4 Cup White wine Low sodium chicken broth can substitute
  • 1 Tbsp Tarragon leaves, fresh 1 Tsp dried tarragon can substitute
  • 2 Tbsp Butter Cut in small squares
  • 2 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
  • 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  • Add 2 Tsp Ghee to an ovenproof frypan over medium high heat. When hot, add halibut and cook undisturbed 3 minutes. Do not trun over. Add frypan to oven and bake 4 minutes. When time is up remove from the oven, flip halibut fillets over and add to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
  • Add remaining ghee to frypan and turn the heat to medium high. Add shallots and saute 1-2 minutes to slightly caramelize. Whisk in white wine and tarragon. Allow to reduce 3 minutes. Then whisk in butter, a bit at a time. And continue to whisk in creme fraiche and Dijon mustard.
  • Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the sauce into the sieve. With a rubber spatula, press the sauce through the sieve.
  • On a serving plate, add half of the sauce to the plate and spread with the back of the spoon. Place a halibut fillet on the sauce. Sprinkle with additional minced tarragon and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 318kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 561mg | Potassium: 584mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 721IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below and be sure and pin this on Pinterest and like us on Facebook.

Similar Recipes:

Halibut with Lemon Cream Sauce

New Zealand Ora King Salmon

Garlic Butter Salmon

 

 

Filed Under: Dinners, Seafood Tagged With: Halibut, halibut recipes

Previous Post: « Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup
Next Post: Homemade Tortillas »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gertrude

    October 28, 2020 at 6:24 am

    5 stars
    I was JUST reading about how healthy halibut is (https://qualityseafooddelivery.com/2021/01/15/halibut-healthy/) and stumbled across this recipe. I had everything in my fridge (except the halibut!), so I decided to make this on a whim over the weekend. The flavors are amazing! I would have never thought to pair halibut and tarragon. 5-star recipe!

    • Pam

      November 3, 2020 at 4:05 pm

      So glad you liked this recipe, Gertrude! Tarragon is an amazing spice, so mild that it doesn’t overpower the mildness of fish. Discovered this long ago at a fabulous restaurant on the Oregon coast where, for brunch, they offered smoked scallops with taragon sauce. Surprisingly, even with the light smoke flavor the flavors blended beautifully. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Primary Sidebar

Hi!
I'm Pam, a self-confessed Foodie. I love creating delicious recipes that are nutritionally smart. I mean, delicious and healthy...what could be better? I am the author of "Natural Healing Foods” as well as several other books. Welcome to my kitchen! Read More…

A User Friendly Reference to Nature's Pharmacy

A User Friendly Reference to Nature's Pharmacy

Natural Healing Foods Reviews

“Pamela’s approach to healthy living and eating is unique in that she references Nature in a most refreshing manner.”

Read more……

Click here to buy on Amazon

Footer

Copyright ©2017-2022 CAVU Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework

Cookies Anyone?
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT