Halibut is my favourite fish. In Spain it goes by hipogloso or sometimes fletán, and I have never once seen it in Andalucía, which is its own kind of injustice. Last May, visiting family in London, I went to a well-known Italian restaurant in Marylebone. Halibut was on the menu — my first choice, obviously — and it arrived dry. Not inedible, but dry. It's a fish that punishes careless cooking and rewards careful cooking in equal measure. My son Danny, three miles from Grimsby fish market, gets halibut when it's there — and this tandoori halibut recipe, loosely based on Gordon Ramsay's version from his Fast Food cookbook, is what he does with it. The technique is the thing.

How to Cook Halibut

The problem with halibut — and what happened in Marylebone — is that the flesh is dense and lean, which means it dries out fast if you overcook it or cook it too hard throughout. The solution, as Ramsay worked out, is to treat the cooking in two stages: sear fast and hot for colour, then finish gently in the oven. But there's a critical step before the sear — you scrape off the excess yoghurt marinade before the fish goes in the pan. Yoghurt burns in a hot pan before the fish has time to colour, so scraping leaves just a thin coating that caramelises cleanly. The scraped marinade goes back on for the oven stage, where the lower heat cooks it through without scorching.

Danny used shop-bought tandoori paste — the cookbook version does the same — which is the right call for a weeknight. If you want to make your own, my tandoori masala spice mix gives you something sharper and more vibrant. Either way, this tandoori halibut recipe lives or dies on the technique.

Tandoori Halibut Recipe — Danny's Version with Cucumber and Herb Yoghurt

Serves 1–2 | 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1–2 halibut fillets, skin removed (around 150g each)
• 1 tbsp tandoori paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 150g natural yoghurt
• 1–2 tbsp vegetable oil, for searing

For the cucumber and herb yoghurt:

• Half a cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin ribbons with a peeler, seeds avoided
• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt (reserved from above)
• Small handful of fresh herbs — mint, dill, or both — finely chopped
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Salt

Method:

Mix the tandoori paste, olive oil and sugar together. Stir in all but 3 tablespoons of the yoghurt — set those aside for the dressing. Coat the halibut fillets in the spiced yoghurt and leave for a few minutes while you make the dressing.

Toss the cucumber ribbons with the reserved yoghurt, herbs and lemon juice. Season and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Heat the vegetable oil in an ovenproof pan over a high heat. Scrape the excess marinade from the fillets — reserve it — and sear for 1–1½ minutes per side until golden. Don't be tempted to skip the scraping step.

Spoon the reserved marinade back over the fish. Transfer the pan to the oven for 3–4 minutes until just cooked through.

Serve with the cucumber and herb yoghurt alongside.

Danny applies the same unfussy approach across everything he brings back from the market. His whole turbot with capers and parsley, his Cornish hake with potatoes, capers and samphire, his roasted monkfish with cherry tomatoes and capers, his grilled John Dory with capers, parsley and garlic, his cataplana with cod, clams and chorizo, and his roasted cod with beluga lentils, asparagus and endive all follow the same logic — good fish, handled with care.

This tandoori halibut recipe is part of my Fish & Seafood Recipes hub — fish and seafood dishes from the coast and the kitchen.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef