Rose Harissa Baked Halibut with Beurre Blanc

 I had a beautiful piece of Halibut filet, from Gimli Fish, and I wanted to prepare something French Classical, easy, fusion-potential, and, did I already mention easy?  Beurre Blanc is, indeed, a very easy to prepare, Classic French sauce.  

I put my own Rose Harissa, thinly spread, onto the filet and set that aside in the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Beurre Blanc can also be served with asparagus, and other fish, such as salmon, steelhead trout, Arctic Char, etc.  Bake the filet, with adjustment for thickness, at 350ºF for 15 minutes.

I served this with Basmati Rice Pilaf, and creamy spinach.  

Beurre Blanc

 
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled  ( I confess to using salted butter)
Options:  thyme, tarragon, or sorrel

Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot and optional herb in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
Add cream, salt, and white pepper and boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium low and add a few tablespoons butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain consistency of hollandaise), removing the saucepan from heat occasionally to cool mixture, so that it won't split.
Remove from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a saucepot pressing on and then discarding shallot and optional herbs. Serve immediately.  It can be made in advance, just gently reheat.