Although I’m usually more into authentic traditional dishes, lately I’ve been doing a lot of fusion. Sometimes it works surprisingly well, like this hot-smoked halibut with guacamole. The flavors and textures are a very good combination.

Hot smoking is so easy to do and provides you with a lot of flavor for little effort. All you need is a simple stovetop smoker, which is not expensive at all. Put some smoking dust in the smoker along with a seasoned piece of fish, put the smoker on heat (dedicated burners or a gas stove) for 15-20 minutes and voilà: delicious smoked fish.

Guacamole only has two obligatory ingredients, and those are avocados and salt. It is also a good idea to add some lime juice to prevent discoloration. Other ingredients are up to your personal preference. In this case I added jalapeño, garlic, tomato, and cilantro. For the texture it is important to mash the avocado with a fork rather than using a blender, which would make it too smooth. Here’s what I did for a simple appetizer…

Ingredients

For 4 servings as an appetizer

300 grams (.66 lb) halibut fillet

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp smoking dust

For the guacamole

2 avocados

salt to taste

1 jalapeño

2 small tomatoes

1 lime

1 Tbsp minced cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

Preparation

Combine 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar in a bowl and stir to mix. Rub this mixture on both sides of the halibut and allow the fish to cure for about an hour.

For the guacamole, remove the skin and big seed of the avocados and mash them with a fork.

Keep mashing until you obtain a coarse puree. Season with salt and add freshly squeezed lime juice.

Seed and dice the tomatoes. Dice the jalapeño as well (small dice). Discard the seeds and membranes of the jalapeño if you don’t like it too hot. Add the tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro. Stir to mix.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and/or lime juice.

Put the smoke dust in the bottom of the smoker.

The fish will have released some juices.

Pat the fish dry with paper towels.

Light the burners underneath the smoker (or fire up your gas stove).

Reassemble the smoker and put the fish on the rack.

Put the smoker on top of the heat source and close it with the lid.

Smoke for 15 minutes.

Serve the smoked halibut at once (while it is still warm) with some guacamole and a piece of lime. Depending on how salty you like your food to be, you may wish to season the halibut with additional salt.

Wine pairing

We enjoyed this with a Saint-Aubin 1er cru, a white Burgundy (chardonnay) with some oak. The oak works well with the smokiness, the minerality works well with the fish and the creaminess works well with the guacamole.

Flashback

Even though pasta with lamb, vegetables, honey, and thyme is not an authentic Italian dish, I do make it on a regular basis because it is so tasty.