Halibut Filets in Horseradish Cream Sauce with Roasted Beets

 Winter is here and we have the perfect recipe that takes advantage of fresh fish and vegetables that are in season. Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, the mixing of beets with lemon and balsamic plays off of the fish and horseradish sauce to create a wonderful combination of flavors.
For fresh fish in our valley, we turn to West Coast Seafood who sells every Saturday at the Old Town Newhall Farmers Market. With 40 years in the business, they have relationships with fishermen all over the globe. Every Saturday, they bring what is fresh to Santa Clarita. Market customers routinely call this the best fish they have ever had, and we agree.
We are thrilled to have access to wonderful organic greens locally from Urban Organic Farm. They are a 40-acre farm located just outside of Santa Clarita in Val Verde. We use their amazing arugula and beets for this recipe.
While you can substitute crème fraiche or sour cream in this recipe, we recommend the plain kefir from Achadinha Cheese Company. This is farm direct from Petaluma where they raise the cows and goats that make their wonderful products. We also recommend using their hand churned butter with your meal on a piece of artisan sourdough bread from Little’s Loaves and Boole’s. Fresh herbs and the best olive oil is also available at the farmer’s market.
Everything mentioned here can be found every Saturday, rain or shine, at the Old Town Newhall Farmers Market. The market runs from 8:30am until 1pm in the parking lot of the Old Town Newhall Library.
Cooking the Fish
Ingredients:
4-6 halibut filets (salmon can be substituted)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 T fresh Thyme
2 T chopped Italian Parsley
4 Cups Arugula
2 T Verni’s California Gold Olive Oil
Season fish with lemon zest and herbs and let sit 4 hours to overnight. Sauté fish in olive oil over medium-low heat until almost cooked. The fish will continue to cook after taken off of heat, do not overcook. Place a layer of arugula on a plate and place fish on top of the arugula. Drizzle beets and arugula with horseradish cream sauce (recipe below), olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Making the Beets and Sauce
Ingredients:
4-6 beets
½ Cup Verni’s California Gold Olive Oil
¼ cup diced shallots
1 T Balsamic vinegar
2 T red wine vinegar
3 T Lemon juice
½ Cup plain Achadinha Cheese Company kefir
1T Prepared horseradish
¼ C Heavy Cream
Wash beets very well and chop off greens. (You can use these elsewhere, beet tops are great sauteed). Toss whole beets with salt and 2 T olive oil. Put in a roasting pan with a 2T of water and cover with foil. Bake at 400 until fork tender, about 40 minutes for average sized beets. When they are done, let cool and peel with your fingers. Chop into quarters to serve.
For the beet sauce, mix the olive oil, shallots, both vinegars, lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. Toss with the beets and place onto arugula.
For the horseradish sauce, whisk the kefir and horseradish. Stir in heavy cream, a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. Drizzle sauce over entire plate and place a single dollop onto the fish directly.

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