Baked Halibut with Citrus Compound Butter

Alright - I had to hurry up and post this recipe before it left my head! Oh man - this dish is amazing! Imagine a warm spring night and you're craving something flavorful, citrus-y, and light. So instantly you think white fish... lemon.... ohhhh how can we turn this into something delicious! So Halibut filets were on sale at Whole Foods, so thats how we decided on the fish... And we were already planning on making some sangria, so we knew we'd have oranges and lemons on hand... So I immediately thought of a compound butter! Sure, butter is "heavy", but its not like a cream sauce... and it still adds a sort of richness to the dish without weighing it down in a sauce.
So we served it atop of some brown basamati rice with some roasted spring veggies... mmm. Perfect ending to a lovely spring evening.
So on to the recipe!

Baked Halibut with Citrus Compound Butter
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 halibut filets, about 6-8oz each
• paprika
• salt & pepper
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• zest of 1 lemon + juice
  
• zest of 1 orange + juice

Directions:

1. Combine softened butter, zest from orange and lemon, about 1 T juice from each fruit, a pinch of salt and about 1/2t paprika in a small bowl. Once you've managed to combine the liquid into the oily solid butter (this will take time, and you probably will splash yourself a few times), taste the butter. If it's too salty - maybe add a touch of sugar, or some more juice to offset the saltiness. If it needs more salt, well add some! Adjust the seasonings to your liking.
   
2. Once you've got the butter right, roll it up in some parchment paper to create a log. If you don't have parchment paper, then I would go ahead and scoop the butter into personal size portions and refrigerate it. Create about 4 serving sizes, and then leave the rest in the bowl (it's about half and half).
3. Lay out your Halibut, season with paprika, salt and pepper (unless your butter is salty, then don't use anymore salt! I guess its obvious our butter got a little too salty). Rub the remaining butter over the tops of the halibut to cover them.
   
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place halibut on a sheet pan and bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish.
   
5. Once fish easily flakes away with a fork, its ready! Serve with a piece of the compound butter on top and eat!
   

I promise this won't disappoint! It was really really really good. And I know - its alot of butter - but its worth it. Most of it melts off anyway. haha.. enjoy!

Submitted by Lauren!