Name: Crispy-Skin White Fish with Clams and Asparagus
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 skin-on halibut or cod fillets, 6 oz each, about 1 1/2 inches thick; 1 1/2 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed; 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; 4 slices country bread, about 1/2 inch thick; 5 tbsp unsalted butter, divided, 3 tbsp kept cold; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 1 shallot, minced; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped; 1 lemon, halved; to taste kosher salt and black pepper

Crispy-Skin White Fish with Clams and Asparagus

4.9 from 502 home cooks Free

A thick halibut fillet with skin as crisp as a cracker rests on buttery toast in a shallow pool of clam broth, surrounded by opened clams and bright asparagus. The bread drinks up the sauce from below. It is the kind of plate to make when you want a spring dinner that feels a bit fancy.

Prep

45 min

Cook

25 min

Total

1 hr 10 min

Serves

Level

Hard

Cuisine

French

Method

Step 1: Soak the clams in cold salted water for 30 minutes, then lift them out and discard any cracked ones or open ones that will not close when tapped. Meanwhile, set the fish skin side up on a paper towel-lined plate in the fridge, uncovered, so the skin dries.
Step 2: Toast the bread in a skillet with 1 tbsp of the butter over medium heat until golden on both sides. Set aside on a rack so it stays crisp.
Step 3: Blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for 90 seconds, until bright green and just tender, then drain.
Step 4: In a wide pan, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat and cook the shallot and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the wine and clams, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the clams open. Discard any that stay closed. Keep the pan warm over low heat.
Step 5: Pat the fish skin very dry again and season both sides with salt. Heat the oil in a large nonstick or carbon-steel skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay the fillets in skin side down and press each firmly with a spatula for 20 seconds so the skin stays flat.
Step 6: Cook without moving for 5 to 6 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and the flesh has turned opaque about three-quarters of the way up the side. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until the fish flakes easily in the center.
Step 7: Add the asparagus to the clam pan, then swirl in the 3 tbsp cold butter a piece at a time until the broth turns slightly glossy. Stir in the chives and a squeeze of lemon.
Step 8: Set a slice of toast in each shallow bowl, top with a fillet skin side up, and spoon the clams, asparagus and broth around it, keeping the skin out of the liquid so it stays crisp.

Kitchen note

Skin crisps only once its moisture is gone, so air-drying it in the fridge and cooking mostly on the skin side lets fat render out and the skin fry in it instead of steaming.