Halibut casserole still tasty with less fat
| • | From Burma, with love |
By Elaine Magee
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Q. I have a halibut dish that is really tasty but quite high in calories. Can you work your magic and help me make it a bit more healthful?
A. The recipe starts with 2 sticks of butter and ends with a cup of sour cream — not a great way to serve halibut that on its own contributes a wonderful dose of fish omega-3s (500 milligrams per 3-ounce serving) and protein (23 grams per 3-ounce serving).
Instead of using the two sticks of melted butter (which combines with the shredded hash browns to create a crust), I used two tablespoons of higher monounsaturated fat margarine. To make a lighter cream sauce, I used a can of Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup, a cup of fat-free sour cream, a cup of fat-free half-and-half or lowfat milk along with diced onions. Reduced-fat sharp cheddar is sprinkled over the top along with some corn flakes to finish the dish. These tweaks made big changes in terms of calories, fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol — half the calories and more than 80 percent less fat and saturated fat!
The original recipe contains 506 calories, 36 grams fat, 21 grams saturated fat, and 108 mg cholesterol per serving.
Editor's note: If you can't find halibut, substitute snapper or any other firm, white-fleshed, boneless fish. And fat-free half-and-half can be found in Hawai'i at some Safeway stores.
LIGHT & EASY HALIBUT HASHBROWN CASSEROLE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with margarine or whipped butter.
Add hashbrowns to prepared dish and push them up the sides to form a crust. Spread the halibut pieces evenly over the potato crust.
In medium bowl, combine condensed cream of mushroom soup, fat-free sour cream, fat-free half-and-half, diced onions and black pepper with whisk or spoon until well blended. Spread mixture over halibut.
Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of the cream sauce then crunch up the corn flakes and scatter them on top. Bake in lower section of oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until fish is cooked throughout and the hashbrown crust is lightly browned.
Makes 8 servings.
• Per serving: 265 calories, 23 g protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 6.4 g fat, 2.2 g saturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 2 g polyunsaturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 408 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 22 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .5 g, Omega-6 fatty acids = 1.4 g. Weight Watchers POINTS = 5
