Slow-Cooked Halibut with Garlic Cream and Fennel (2024)

2 small fennel bulbs, fronds reserved, bulbs cut into 1/2"-thick wedges

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. plus 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided; plus more

1 1/2 lb. skin-on halibut fillet, patted dry

1 small lemon

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

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Reviews (25)

• Very simple, elegant and flavorful. Like other reviewers have mentioned the cooking times for both fennel and halibut or way off and have to be tweaked. I salted according to our taste. I cooked 1/2 pound halibut (2 pieces, one piece 1" and other piece 1 1/4"), used 2 C cream, 4 garlic cloves, 3 very small fennel bulbs, cut thinner than 1/2" wedges. Simmered fennel/garlic in the cream on stove top about 30 minutes which still left the fennel not quite tender. I finished cooking fennel in 350 oven for 10 more minutes, then added halibut, cooked about 15 minutes which was perfect. I must have read the instructions for cutting the lemon at least 4 times! Still not sure what lobes are! Very confusing, so did it my way -- chopped lemon rind/peel with some lemon flesh attached, olive oil, fennel fronds and squeeze of lemon juice, salt & pepper -- I used a blender. The taste of the fennel oil is excellent -- don't skip it as it adds a much needed punch of acid and flavor to the finished dished. I served over sauteed spinach and steam baby potatoes -- use some of the fennel oil drizzled over the potatoes. In hindsight very easy dish to prepare -- hardest part was sorting through the instructions!

  • Dory

  • San Diego, CA

  • 5/6/2024

• Lovely taste overall and the instructions lead to a perfectly cooked halibut. But the amount of salt the recipe calls for is insane. The salt totally overwhelmed the flavor of the fish. I'd take it down maybe to a third of the salt level recommended. Also, does it really required 4 cups of cream? Maybe 80% of the cream was left over and wasted. If I make this dish again, I plan to experiment with using much less cream and maybe a smaller pan so that the halibut is still pretty well immersed in the cream. Lastly, I'd say the leeks were a little undercooked. Next time, I might think about sticking the leeks in the broiler at the very beginning or very end to give them a little char and more softness. I also might cut them thinner than 1/2".

  • Matt G

  • Queens, NY

  • 3/15/2024

• Delicious! Used less cream as others have noted, filled in a little with regular milk. It was plenty rich enough. The lemon-fennel oil makes the dish. Seven with chewy sourdough bread for capturing the delectable sauce.

  • Sue P

  • Monterey, CA

  • 9/17/2023

• I would give this 5 stars for flavor but the times and temps needed so much tweaking that it rated 3 stars! The fennel easily took 30 minutes to become tender and the halibut took 15-20 minutes in a 300 degree oven but the time is dependent on the thickness of the filets so I brought it to an internal temp of 140 and it was perfect. I subbed two cans of full-fat coconut milk for the cream because of dairy intolerance and it worked beautifully. A tablespoon of salt seemed REALLY excessive so I salted to taste and probably used half that amount. All in all, delicious, different and elegant.

  • hcc

  • 5/26/2022

• This is a remarkably simple dish! I agree with other reviews that the cooking times are off. I have made this several times (5+) and slowly cook the fennel on the stovetop for 30 minutes on low, then the halibut in the oven for 30 minutes at 300 degrees F. This is one of the most wonderful ways to cook halibut. Eating this is so enjoyable. Took the advice of another review and served this will steamed spinach. This takes care of the excess flavourful garlic cream on your plate. I pour the extra cream on top of the steamed spinach when plating. The first few times I made the dish I did not realize that fennel oil is not an ingredient. It's the olive oil with fennel fronds and lemon. Funny how I could read a recipe multiples times and not get it! lol. Either way, I highly recommend this dish when you have a beautiful fresh slab of halibut!

  • missstark

  • Port Moody BC

  • 3/23/2022

• Wow, I only made this to get rid of a fennel bulb. So unexpectedly good!

  • tinaoshea

  • Alameda, CA

  • 6/28/2021

• We are big seafood lovers and discriminating halibut cookers and we LOVED this. I made it for 2, so used 12 oz. of halibut and about a cup of coconut creme. I browned the halibut first, then set it aside while I cooked the (chopped) fennel and garlic in the creme. I then finished cooking the halibut for about 9 minutes. I couldn't quite figure out the lemon "core" so I squeezed and zested half a lemon, added the chopped fennel fronds and olive oil.Yum!

  • sxfoster9021

  • Seattle

  • 4/6/2021