When Rick and I first became "vegaquarians", (vegetarians who eat fish), I had to learn how to cook all over again. There were some meat and poultry dishes I had created that were no longer on our menu and we missed them.

Some of our meat-based meals, such as chili, spaghetti sauce and Shepherd’s Pie were easily replaced with vegetarian alternatives. One dish in particular, Chicken Divan, was one of our favourites which required a little more experimentation. Finally I have perfected its alternative, Halibut Divan, and today I am sharing it with you here. I have also successfully substituted the halibut with salmon, scallops, shrimp or a mixture of all of them. No doubt you can use any fish you like and please remember, if you use chicken, it must be precooked.

(Because we live in a Moho and I have a limited cooking area I have also created a shortcut, using frozen vegetables.) I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

1 - 1 ½ lbs of halibut filet, sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips

1 16 oz. bag of Trader Joe’s "Organic Greens with Attitude" or any brand frozen broccoli

(thawed and drained)

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, finely diced

3 Tbls. organic butter

¼ tsp. fresh, coarsely ground pepper

½ tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/3 cup dry white wine (optional)

2 cups organic milk or light cream

3-4 Tbls. white organic flour

juice of one lemon

1 ½ cups of shredded, white organic old cheddar cheese

Spread thawed vegetables on bottom of medium, oblong casserole dish. Cover them with slices of raw fish. Set casserole dish aside.

In saucepan, melt butter. Add chopped garlic and diced onion and stir-fry until onion has become translucent.

Add salt and pepper.

To bubbling butter/onion add flour, stirring until flour is absorbed by butter. Turn heat down and let butter mixture simmer for five minutes stirring regularly. (Be careful that it doesn’t brown.)

Add white wine, stirring constantly until mixture has thickened. Then slowly add cream into mixture, stirring until it is evenly mixed in and sauce is smooth. Add lemon juice to sauce and mix in.

Spread thickened sauce evenly over fish and vegetables in casserole dish

Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over casserole and bake for 35-40 minutes in oven heated to 350F.

Serve over steamed brown rice

Bon Appetit!