Name: Lemon-Garlic Halibut Steaks
Ingredients: vegetable oil for grilling; ¼ cup lemon juice; 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon pepper; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 4 halibut or tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick (about 2 pounds); ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley; 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Lemon-Garlic Halibut Steaks

Time10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

vegetable oil for grilling
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 halibut or tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick (about 2 pounds)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Directions

Prepare

Brush grill rack with vegetable oil.
Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat.
In a shallow glass or plastic dish or resealable plastic food-storage bag, mix lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and garlic.
Add fish; turn several times to coat.
Cover dish or seal bag and refrigerate 10 minutes.
Remove fish from the marinate; reserve the marinate.

Grill and serve

Cover and grill fish over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, turning once and brushing with marinate, until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Discard any remaining marinate.
Sprinkle fish with parsley and lemon peel.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

494Calories

48 gProtein

30 gFat

7 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Halibut	100g cooked	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Halibut or tuna steaks: Firm flesh that holds together on the grill and cooks to flaky, moist pieces.
Lemon juice: Acidity that brightens the flavor and begins to tenderize the surface of the fish.
Garlic: Pungent aroma that flavors the marinade and carries into the cooked fish.
Olive or vegetable oil: Fat that carries the garlic and lemon flavors and helps keep the fish moist.
Parsley: Fresh herbal aroma added at the end for brightness.

The step that matters

Grilling the fish until it just flakes. Fish proteins set quickly and dry out once overcooked, so checking for an easy flake with a fork and turning once helps keep the steaks moist. Brushing with marinade adds flavor while the surface cooks.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, olive, pepper, garlic, parsley):

Thymefits better
Basilfits better
Marjoramfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, olive, pepper, garlic, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Lemon-Garlic Halibut Steaks