Roasted Halibut With Lemons, Olives and Rosemary Recipe (2024)

Found this somewhere: The proper proportion for the best alternative to Aleppo pepper: Mix four parts sweet paprika to one part cayenne. Optional: Add a tiny pinch of salt.

Seems like you'd have known, as a chef, that this would destroy the fish. I have cooked it this way several times and it's wonderful. If you don't overcook it, there is just enough going in the recipe to let the natural flavor take center stage. Not fair to blame this outcome on the recipe itself.

Really good. Used very fresh cod cut more than 1" thick (fresher and a lot cheaper than halibut where I shopped). Used Aleppo pepper and it works well. I agree with prior comments that more lemon "oomph" would help -- such as grating some zest over the fish before cooking and/or squeezing lemon over after.

This recipe deserves its high ratings, even with use-what-you-have substitutions. In my case those were thick fresh cod fillets that were on sale at Fairway, "pure" chili powder (though I'll look for Turkish or Aleppo), dried rosemary, green manzanilla olives. Simple, sophisticated, quick and--unusual for a Melissa Clark recipe--no garlic, something I like only in small doses! Do try this when you want to impress. Served with tiny Yukon gold potatoes, European butter, pan charred broccoli.

If you have a temperature probe. The ideal internal temperature of halibut and cod is 130ºF. For Salmon it is 121ºF.Takes the guessing out of the equation.

Super good!Put a very little lemon olive oil in a baggie and crushed some rosemary in it and let it sit a couple of hours. ‘Marinated’ the fish with that mix for about an hour. Followed all other recipe instructions, except sprinkled olives on after fish baked and after additional drizzle of fresh lemon. A truly exquisite presentation and soooooo delish. Bought Halibut special for this meal. WORTH IT.

I cooked this for a dinner party last night. It was delicious and there were clean plates all around. I made the recipe exactly as written, except for one thing: I didn't have ground chili pepper, so I used flaked red chili pepper. I am so happy with how it turned out and it really is the easiest main dish to serve for company! A keeper. Thank you Melissa!

Loved this recipe. If guests are sensitive to spice then cut down on the Aleppo pepper but otherwise a big winner. Used branches of rosemary below and above the fish very thin slices of lemon. Let the fish sit in the refrigerator for about an hour with the seasonings on, then out 30-40 minutes before cooking. Cooked at 450 for 10 minutes then 2 minutes under the broiler. I am sure it would be great with any flakey fish and also with capers instead of olives but as is, it is a wow!

I cooked 2 lbs of fresh Halibut and served it to guests who are great cooks. They raved about it. I added 5 minutes to the cook time for the additional fish. 15 minutes at 450 was perfect. I will make this again.

This may sound weird but I made this recipe with chicken and it was awesome (the halibut looked tired that day). And I will do it again!

I added about 2 T of capers on top, as I like the flavor boost it provides to SIcilian inspired recipes. Delicious recipe overall. I will make it again.

I loved this recipe, so simple and delicious. I used cod rather than halibut and omitted the salt as there was enough in the olive brine. It was visually appealing and the combined taste of the lemon and olives was spectacular. We served it over rice (making sure to serve it with all of the sauce, lemon, olives and rosemary) with broccoli. We will definitely make this again.
Thank you Melissa.

Really very good, with fresh local halibut, meyer lemon slices, rosemary, aleppo pepper, a little smoked paprika, and capers (as someone suggested in lieu of olives). It's surprising that the rosemary's fragrance infuses the fish as much as it does, but next time I'll put it (or branches of thyme, another good suggestion) both above and below the fish, covered in the fridge, for a few hours prior to cooking. The only trick is not to under- or over-cook it; 425º seemed right for mine.

Delicious and easy. Added lemon zest at the end to intensify lemon flavor

Will make again. Will season with salt on both sides next time and oil the pan to prevent sticking.

Add: 1/4 cup Castelvetrano olives pitted 1/4 cup peppadews6 oz. Valberaso sheeps milk feta (in chunks)5 sprigs rosemary Thinly sliced red onionsLemon Fustini’s oil over veggies and feta, fish Homemade 3 chili powder plus Aleppo

Adored by all. Simple and fast. Many different combos of spices also work.

Needed to cook a little longer. Fillets may have been a little thicker - used grouper. Very good

I used California grouper (San Diego local), added one sliced clove of blanched garlic, thyme instead of rosemary, a mix of green olives. I placed garlic and half of herbs, olives and lemon slices under the fillet, the rest on top. For a 0.88 lb piece, it took about 25 minutes. Served with herb-buttered fingerling potatoes and blanched green beans. An amazingly easy, delicious meal!!

Excellent and easy recipe. My halibut piece was a little thick so I ended up cooking 15 min vs 10. Delicious!

Very nice recipe, served it with a really good sauvignon blanc.

"The best chef in the world would be worried about his job if he tasted this" -My 11 year old son. Thanks for a great family dinner!

Made exactly as written. Fish was bland. Extra fresh lemon juice helped. I just don’t like olives in food. They overwhelm the other flavors. I won’t be making this again.

cooked this last night for a celebration and it was well received. One problem was having all pieces the same size and cooking slightly different times, 1-2 minutes makes a difference for the texture of the fish.

Hmm, followed directions exactly, using halibut. It was good, but didn't match my expectation for a 5 star recipe with rave reviews. Topped each piece with 4 very thin lemon slices. No marination. Baked 10 mins. Both lemon and pepper flavors were quite prominent but we didn't get a hint of the rosemary flavor, which I would have preferred. Looked really pretty on the plate, though.

I used preserved lemons instead of fresh and skipped the salt (as preserved lemons are already extremely salty), did everything else as written. It was awesome, highly recommend.

I substituted green olives for black and tarragon for rosemary...pretty amazing! Plus a tiny bit of butter helps too. :-)

I fixed this for a party. I was very careful not to overcook. My guests loved the recipe and commented that fish was perfectly done. I served with several different rose' wines. The seasonings were a great match.

Totally bland, except for the overwhelming flavor of fish.

BEST. FISH. EVER! only “adjustments” were to add lemon/rosemary under as well as over, and to cook on a cedar plank on the grill to 131F. With fresh corn on cob and five bean salad, this was definitely as good….or better…than ANY restaurant fish! Seasoning was mild enough that the flavor of our VERY fresh halibut came through, but enough that it complimented the fish perfectly. Just remember to go light on the salt, as the olives impart their salty brine to the fish as it cooks. AMAZING!