Halibut Baked with Tomatoes and Fennel

Halibut Baked with Tomatoes and Fennel, Topped with Feta Crumb Crust

I love how all the different flavors come together. It's one of those dishes that you can prepare ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator (up to 6 hours) until you are ready to bake it.


Serves 6

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced
2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ½ pounds fresh halibut fillets, about 6 fillets (or any other white fish)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup white wine

TOPPING:
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup Panko or other dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and fennel bulb until softened but not brown. Remove from the heat.

Lightly oil a 3-quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread half the onion mixture in the bottom of the dish.

Scatter half the tomatoes on top and season with salt and several grindings of black pepper. Arrange the fish evenly on top of the tomatoes and scatter the basil on top.

Season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the wine. Layer with the remaining onion mixture followed by the remaining tomatoes.

To make the topping, crumble the feta cheese. Combine the feta, breadcrumbs, thyme and olive oil together to form a loose topping.

Scatter evenly over the top of the fish. The dish can be refrigerated, covered, at this point for up to 6 hours.

Bake for 30-35 minutes (40-45 if it has been refrigerated) or until the fish is done and the topping is a light golden brown.