Poached Fish in Wine with Caramelized Onions & Grapefruit

Every year, my husband's parents treat us with a huge box of the best ruby red grapefruit I've ever tasted. It is as sweet as candy and most evenings my husband will peel and section one for us to share. It is a light and refreshing dessert that helps to bring a little of the long forgotten sunshine to the darkest days of our Maine winter.

This is the season for buying the juiciest and sweetest grapefruit of the year, so stock up. Store in a cool, dry place (we keep ours in a part of our basement that gets only a little heat but won't freeze), and they will last for a couple of weeks. Red grapefruit is sweeter than the white variety and is packed with vitamin C and fiber. Besides just peeling and eating for breakfast or juicing, most people can't think of another way to eat grapefruit. It can be difficult to incorporate it into a hot recipe because, once heated, it will fall apart easily. The trick is to add it during the last minutes of cooking or, as suggested in this recipe, sprinkle sections with brown sugar or honey and place under a broiler. It is simply delicious prepared in this way!

Poached Fish in Wine with Caramelized Onions & Grapefruit
(Makes 2 servings)

8 ounces mild white fish (tilapia, halibut or haddock)
½ medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
Pinch of salt
¼ cup sweet wine or sherry
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar
1 cup grapefruit sections
2 teaspoons honey or brown sugar

1. Choose an oven-proof skillet just large enough for the fish to be side by side in the pan. (I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet.) Heat olive oil in pan and add chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, lightly browned and caramelized, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the wine, juice, stock and vinegar in a measuring cup and stir to combine; set aside. When the onions are soft, remove and add them to the wine mixture. Turn up heat to medium and place the fish into the skillet and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook briefly for 1-2 minutes, turn fish and add poaching liquid to pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add grapefruit sections to cover fish and spoon the cooking liquid over sections. Drizzle honey or brown sugar over the grapefruit and place skillet in the oven under a broiler until honey or sugar is bubbly and starting to brown. Divide fish, sauce and grapefruit equally between two dinner plates and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information per serving: 229.5 calories, 21 g carbohydrate, 4.2 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 1.5 g fiber, 23.7 g protein

Original recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2010