Make Tulalip chef’s summery halibut with peach-lime salsa

By Perry Mascitti / Tulalip Resort Casino

Summer is a great time to take advantage of regionally sourced seasonal offerings available to us all. Featuring fresh halibut and sweet peaches, this is my super easy go-to recipe for preparing or any fresh-not-frozen fish.

Foil pouches for each filet make this dish easy to prepare and add fun to the presentation for guests at mealtime. Sealed together in foil, the salsa is warmed and the halibut is steamed to perfection. The halibut comes out moist and the sweet peach-lime salsa creates its own tasty sauce while it is cooking.

Serving six, this flavorful dish screams summer in so many ways and is easy to prepare in just 30 minutes. I use my wood-fueled barbecue at home, but it also can be easily baked in your oven.

Halibut with peach-lime salsa

For the halibut fillets:

6 fresh halibut fillets (7-8 ounces each)

1 cup white wine

1 teaspoon salt (I prefer kosher, but any will do)

6 ½-inch-thick salted butter pats (about 1 ounce each)

For the peach-lime salsa:

2 ripe peaches, white or yellow, pitted and ¼-inch diced

½ cup green onion, chopped

½ cup cilantro, leaves only, chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon course black pepper

1 teaspoon salt, divided

Juice of 3 medium limes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the peaches, green onion, cilantro, sugar, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, salt and lime juice in a bowl. Set aside.

To create the foil pouches for your fish, cut 6 foil sheets to 12 by 12 inches, then fold in half.

Place each halibut filet in the middle of the doubled foil sheet, about 1 inch from the long-side edge.

Pour wine evenly over each filet. Season each piece with about ¼ teaspoon salt. Add butter pat to the top of each halibut filet, followed by ¼ cup of peach salsa. Make sure the salsa has even and full coverage.

Fold foil over top of halibut and fold the edges to create the halibut’s own pouch. Crimp the 3 edges together tight to prevent juices from leaking out. Place all packets on a sheet pan in 1 layer.

Bake in the oven or on an outdoor grill for about 10 minutes. For a fish such as a halibut, you’ll want your filet to reach 125 to 135 degrees on a meat thermometer.

When it’s ready, have your guests open their own steaming pouch at the table. I like to serve my halibut with Mexican rice and black beans, but feel free to use your favorite side. After all, you are the chef!

Perry Mascitti is the executive chef at Tulalip Resort Casino. Mascitti manages nearly 260 kitchen staff, including chefs, sous chefs and cooks. He’s been at Tulalip since 2007 and has more than 30 years of culinary experience.