Poached Halibut Pasta with Pear and Beets Salad @ Home

Last week, I made one of my favorite dishes for my friend Selina. I can't really take credit for this dish since most of the ingredients were inspired by my mother. It's a pasta dish with tomato sauce that is also used to poach a nice large fresh piece of halibut. The dish is great for large groups if you want to serve your pasta with a little protein, but are tired of chicken or beef. The halibut is so tasty on its own that the combination is genuinely mouth watering. Selina prepared a salad with boiled beets, d'anjou pears, baby spinach and arugula, and salted almonds in truffle oil. The salad was drizzled with concentrated balsamic vinegar, white truffle oil and pepper and salt. The salad was light and refreshing and complemented the pasta very well. If you'd like to make the dish, I've added some simple cooking instructions below

Poached Halibut Pasta Recipe:

1. Sautee several cloves of garlic, finely chopped in olive oil
2. Caramelize 2 coarsely chopped, large white onions with a little brown sugar
3. Once onions are golden brown, add 2 coarsely chopped, large sweet red peppers
4. After sauteing the peppers, add 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes and bring to medium heat
5. Add 2 finely chopped serano peppers, 1 bottle of pitted black olives, and 1 small bottle of capers
6. Add 1 box of sliced shitake  mushrooms and continue stiring on medium heat till half the water is removed
7. Add herbs of your choice to spice it up or make it more earthy
8. Bring a pot of water to boil and add 500 grams of fusili pasta (the Whole Foods brand was very good)
9. Place the halibut in large sections, skin side down in the pan and submerge in the tomato sauce
10. Add full pieces of fresh basil for flavor and an appetizing look
11. Check halibut after 5 minutes, but be sure not to overcook the halibut otherwise it will dry out
12. When cooked, remove the fish from the pan and mix the tomato sauce directly with the pasta

You can serve the halibut ontop of the pasta with a little fresh grated parmesan or to the side, your preference.