Seared Halibut with Green Beans, Scallions and White Wine Sauce

This recipe can be prepared and executed very quickly. It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work. I used flash-frozen green beans and they were terrific.

Ingredients:
1 pound young green or wax beans
Four 7-ounce halibut fillets, each approximately 1 inch thick
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Non-stick cooking spray
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 scallions (green onions) white part only, finely sliced on the bias
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
1 large, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup diced canned tomato, drained may be substituted)

Directions:
In a pot of boiling salted water set over high heat, cook the green beans for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain and place them in the center of a large, warm serving platter. Cover and keep warm.

Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. Spray a 12-inch sauté pan with non-stick spray, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn, reduce the heat to medium, and cook about 4 minutes longer, until the fish is opaque in the center and browned on both sides. Put the fish on the platter with the beans and cover to keep warm.

Pour off any oil in the pan and add the wine and lemon juice. Raise the heat to high and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the sauce reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the butter, a piece at a time, to enrich and flavor the sauce. Add the scallions, capers, and tomato. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the fish on the platter. Serve immediately.