Roasted Halibut With Mussel Butter Sauce Recipe (2024)

Really, really good, 5 stars! Full disclosure: didn't use the dried kelp--not something familiar to my family or me as a cook and didn't feel like experimenting. Salted and oiled the fish and baked ~12 minutes at 400°. Used dry white wine in place of kelp liquid. Otherwise made this just as written (well, dried tarragon in sauce instead of fresh--it is December--and fresh parsley). Wonderful sauce, altogether the dish is just excellent and so easy given how impressive it is!

No, nori will not work. It is a completely different kind of seaweed. Your best bet is probably Eden Foods’ Kombu. It is carried by Whole Foods or smaller, local co-ops, etc. maybe other places, too.

Do not discard kelp; keep it refrigerated and add to the water next time you cook rice.

Great recipe. Next time I will do as another reader says and boil down the kombu water to get a head start on the sauce. Also 15 mins was too long in the oven - mine was overdone. I'll set the timer for 10 mins next time. The kombu was great.

This was more trouble than it was worth. It also felt like two separate dishes (the fish and the mussels) that didn't need to be together. I did appreciate the interesting use of kombu, and it was quite tasty. I'd make the halibut with seaweed again, and potentially the mussels, but the sauce was so time consuming, tedious and stressful because the fish and seafood are just waiting there, getting cold, while you simmer, reduce, cook and blend for another 20 minutes.

Just made this recipe and it was delicious. A few observations:1) the kelp/konbu wasn’t edible after cooking. Probably should have soaked it for longer than 5 mins 2) the sauce took a lot longer to cook than I expected. In retrospect I should have started cooking that as step 1 to give it enough time to reduce. I had to pop the fish back in the oven to prevent it from cooling

I like my hot food to be hot, or at least real warm. At the conclusion of step 4 both proteins are cooked and now sit around a minimum of the 13 minutes called for by the next 2 steps. Tenting mussels with foil won’t do for 13+ minutes. Is the application of the sauce the way in which the halibut and mussels are reheated?

Tasty recipe, but the timing doesn't work out. The fish and the mussels were done long before the sauce, which took much longer to reduce than indicated. Next time, I'll do it differently: start by reducing kelp water, wrap halibut and put in to roast, add butter etc. to reduced kelp water, steam mussels with clam juice only, then finish sauce by adding clam juice and serve. Maybe that way I won't have to serve a lukewarm meal. (Note: The roe is worth it! It's gorgeous and adds a fun salty pop.)

Solid recipe. Followed the advice posted to begin reducing konbu broth early which helped the end timeline. I also started the fish and the sauce at the same time so everything stayed hot. Upped the garlic slightly which seemed to be a nice addition.

This was more trouble than it was worth. It also felt like two separate dishes (the fish and the mussels) that didn't need to be together. I did appreciate the interesting use of kombu, and it was quite tasty. I'd make the halibut with seaweed again, and potentially the mussels, but the sauce was so time consuming, tedious and stressful because the fish and seafood are just waiting there, getting cold, while you simmer, reduce, cook and blend for another 20 minutes.

I made this last night for 4 adults, and there was nothing. left over. I’m not sure this would serve more than 4. I made all dishes including the recommended sides and it was delicious and impressive. I ordered the kelp on Amazon as I could not find it locally. I followed every step to the letter. While it’s a lot of steps, I did prepare everything in advance and I suggest thatI made the fennel and the orzo and next time I’ll do sides with less steps. Maybe fresh bread and a salad.

Delicious! Made half the recipe but with full mussels. Began reducing the kelp water early on. Fish was very thick and took a lot longer to cook but did not dry out. Used turmeric instead of saffron. Sauce was great!

Great recipe. Next time I will do as another reader says and boil down the kombu water to get a head start on the sauce. Also 15 mins was too long in the oven - mine was overdone. I'll set the timer for 10 mins next time. The kombu was great.

Not easy to find kelp, but substituted it with banano leafs and put the fish in a bed of anchovies to give the marine flavors. Changed the halibut for sole and it worked well. I paired it with a Farro risotto. Very good match.

Tasty recipe, but the timing doesn't work out. The fish and the mussels were done long before the sauce, which took much longer to reduce than indicated. Next time, I'll do it differently: start by reducing kelp water, wrap halibut and put in to roast, add butter etc. to reduced kelp water, steam mussels with clam juice only, then finish sauce by adding clam juice and serve. Maybe that way I won't have to serve a lukewarm meal. (Note: The roe is worth it! It's gorgeous and adds a fun salty pop.)

Made this as directed for Christmas Eve with both the orzo and the fennel side dishes and crusty bread and it was all sublime. The sides really complemented the fish. The sauce was delicate and delicious - a little more watery than I expected and I think I would have cooked it down more in retrospect. The orzo is actually a summer dish and I couldn’t get fresh basil but used dried and it was wonderful. The last five minutes with the fish was intense but it came out amazing. A big hit-and pretty!

Could not get halibut or cod - used mahi and it was delicious.I put salmon caviar on top - that took this wonderful dish up another step!!!

Special and decadent. Fish melts in the mouth prepared this way. We have local fresh halibut in LA and this was sublime. I made the braised fennel - also a hit. Serve w sourdough to dip in mussel sauce, and grate parm onto fennel. Timing a bit tricky. I kept sauce bubbling while putting fish back in for quick braise. Next time I’ll use a touch less mussel broth. Perfect for Xmas eve. We love Kay’s recipes - always fancy but easy and original.

This is an incredibly delicious recipe...the sauce is out of this world. Cook the mussels at the same time as the fish and then it will be easier to keep everything warm. And next time I will use less of the mussel cooking liquid...then the sauce will reduce much more quickly.

This a wonderful recipe - But, fresh halibut is available only from mid-March - November. The Times has it featured as a Christmas/holiday dinner. If you purchase halibut in December, please note, it will be frozen.

Just made this recipe and it was delicious. A few observations:1) the kelp/konbu wasn’t edible after cooking. Probably should have soaked it for longer than 5 mins 2) the sauce took a lot longer to cook than I expected. In retrospect I should have started cooking that as step 1 to give it enough time to reduce. I had to pop the fish back in the oven to prevent it from cooling

I like my hot food to be hot, or at least real warm. At the conclusion of step 4 both proteins are cooked and now sit around a minimum of the 13 minutes called for by the next 2 steps. Tenting mussels with foil won’t do for 13+ minutes. Is the application of the sauce the way in which the halibut and mussels are reheated?

didn't use the dried kelp. Salted and oiled the fish and baked ~12 minutes at 400°. Used dry white wine in place of kelp liquid.