Halibut with Melted Tomatoes and Thyme

Life is good in Maine.  Today I rambled around town with my sister and Baby J, drank a pumpkin spiced latte, lazed around the house, and cooked dinner for the family.  The fresh fish here is so amazing, and this is my favorite way to cook halibut.  This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients
2 lbs. halibut
Olive Oil
Paprika
Lemon
4 handfuls cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch of fresh thyme, taken from the stem and coarsely chopped
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.  Rinse the halibut and pat dry with a paper towel.  Place in deep baking dish.  Rub with a generous amount of olive oil.  Sprinkle well with paprika, salt and pepper.  Roast in oven until cooked through, ~40 minutes (check often, as this cooking time depends on your oven and the thickness of the halibut steak).

2) Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with olive oil.  Heat over medium heat.
3) Add garlic and saute until just golden.
4) Add tomatoes, cover skillet, and allow tomatoes to wilt, about 15 minutes.
5) Remove cover and stir in salt, pepper and thyme.  Continue to saute until tomatoes disintegrate a bit more, but still retain some shape.  A thick sauce will form in the bottom of the pan.
6) Remove halibut from oven and cut into serving sizes.  Spoon tomatoes and sauce generously over each serving.

We served this dish with saffron risotto and steamed asparagus.  The flavors were light and complimentary and dinner felt healthily protein-packed. I'm now off to get the kind of sleep you can only get at the beach!  Good night!