More Fish - Less Meat: Great Recipe

I've recently made a pledge to eat less meat. After doing quite a bit of reading and research on the topic, I made the decision for the following reasons:

Consuming high amounts of animal protein has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers and heart disease.

I believe anything the animal ingests winds up in your body so I am passionate about trying to eat only grass fed beef, organic, free-range poultry and dairy, etc., which is often hard to find.

Vegetable and fish based protein is lower in calories than animal protein.

So far this initiative has been going well. It has certainly forced me to get more creative with my cooking and seek out new vegetarian, fish and shellfish recipes, which is how I stumbled upon this one from last August's Gourmet magazine. It is truly a restaurant quality dish that is so simple to prepare at home.
Makes 6-8 servings, so I cut it back to 2 tomatoes, 1 fennel bulb, and enough halibut for two people since it was just Rob and I. I left everything else in the recipe as is and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed, reserving some fronds for garnish, and bulbs (including core) cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 pound small (1 1/2- to 2-inch) tomatoes (preferably Campari), halved
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
3 (3- by 1-inch) strips orange zest
1 quart extra-virgin olive oil 1 (2 1/2-pound)
piece skinless halibut fillet (about 1 1/2 inches thick) Equipment: a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (at least 4 inches deep)

Preparation
Simmer garlic, fennel bulbs, tomatoes, fennel seeds, sugar, bay leaf, zest, and 1 teaspoon salt in oil, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still intact, 30 to 40 minutes. While vegetables simmer, rub fish with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and let stand 10 to 20 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then submerge fish in oil (if necessary, to lift level of oil, return vegetables to pot) and cover surface of oil with parchment paper. Cook fish over medium heat (without simmering) 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let fish cook from residual heat (still covered with parchment) until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully transfer fish to a platter using 2 metal spatulas. Discard bay leaf. Surround with vegetables. Drizzle with some of oil and sprinkle with chopped fronds. Serve warm or at room temperature.