Olio-Poached Fish, A Love Story

Last summer, along with an auditorium full of olive oil producers from around the globe,  I had the pleasure of taking an olive oil focused cooking class from the great Chef Paul Bartolotta at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. Among the techniques he shared was olio-poaching, or in non-chef terms, gently bathing fish in a pool of warm, not-quite-simmering olive oil. I watched Bartolotta heat a few inches of California extra virgin olive oil in a small sauce pan over low heat, add Branzino fillets, and gently cook the fish for about ten minutes, spooning warm oil over the fillet as its shiny pink flesh turned white and opaque. After the demonstration, we forked into the fish fillets; the texture was silky and luscious, the Branzino’s delicate sweet flavor perfumed by the fruity olio. 

Since then, olio-poaching has become a mainstay of my weeknight dinner repertoire. Not only does the method yield constantly delicious results, but unlike the precision that searing or broiling requires to cook fish well, olio-poaching is forgiving. This flexibility comes in part simply from cooking slowly, so there is less risk of getting distracted for two minutes when your kid needs you RIGHT NOW and overcooking your fish, but also from the specific way in which olive oil seals in the natural moisture of the fish as it cooks.  For this same reason, despite being enveloped in a pool of oil, the fish itself does not become greasy, as the oil barely penetrates the flesh of the fish.

Bartalotta’s demonstration featured Branzino, but the same olio-poaching technique works well with any flaky fish. I often use Halibut or sole, but I’m eager to try a dinner-party-sized salmon fillet. The same olio-poaching technique works well with shrimp too — large tail on shrimp become rich and plump, ready to be stirred into pasta or eaten with crusty toast.

Olio-Poached Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

Halibut fillet, ¾ pound

Good fruity extra virgin olive oil, abt ¾ cup

Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint

Garlic, 4-6 skin-on cloves, smashed 

Salt & pepper

Steps

1. Salt fish and allow to come to room temperature

2. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees

3. Wash tomatoes and smash garlic cloves

4. In a just-big-enough oven safe pan or other vessel (I used a Heath Coup bowl here), nestle together fish, tomatoes, and garlic. Add olive oil such that the fillets are about ⅔ submerged. It’s important to use a small pan or vessel, so that you are able to poach fish in a relatively small quantity of olive oil, otherwise this recipe will get a bit pricey!

5. Place vessel in 250 degree oven and cook for about 15 minutes.

6. Remove from heat and using a fork, smash about half the tomatoes. 

7. Serve fish, spooning the tomato and poaching olio over the fillets. Finish with flaky salt and black pepper.

8. Serve with cous cous, rice, quinoa, or another grain to soak up the tomato and garlic infused oil.