IT’S ABOUT TIME – sample recipe
Potato Crusted Halibut With wild mushrooms, truffle vinaigrette and carrot reduction
Boy, are you going to look good making this one. I mean they are going to be so impressed they won’t even know what hit them. Be prepared for your guests to cry foul…they will probably accuse you of bringing in a ringer for the dinner, or maybe they’ll think you’ve been moonlighting in a professional kitchen instead of going to that bowling league they thought you joined.
No matter what, this is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Just read the directions through….in fact, read it twice just to be sure.
Makes 4 main courses
4 - 6 oz. pieces of Halibut fillet 2 egg yolks (beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper) 1 cup of all natural dehydrated potato flakes (seasoned with a pinch of chopped thyme) 2 cups of assorted wild mushrooms (cleaned and sliced) 1 cup of haricot verts (blanched in salted boiling water for 1 minute, shocked, then cut in half) 1 large shallot (sliced into thin rings) 2 tbsp. of truffle vinaigrette (recipe follows) 2 tbsp. of carrot reduction (recipe follows) 4 oz. of olive oil 1 tbsp. of butter salt and pepper pinch of fresh thyme juice from one lemon
Truffle Vinaigrette
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. of reduced balsamic vinegar (start with 7 tbsp. and reduce over high heat until you have 2 tbsp. left) 1 shallot, minced pinch of chopped fresh thyme 8 tbsp. of truffle oil salt and pepper ½ tsp. of finely sliced chives
Procedure: : Combine all ingredients in a small bowl….mix gently, but leave the oil and vinegar separated.
Carrot Reduction
Ingredients: 1 cup of carrot juice pinch of curry powder salt sugar 1 oz. of rice vinegar
Procedure: : Reduce the carrot juice by ¾’s , whisk vigorously if separated, and then add the remaining ingredients. Whisk again to incorporate.
Now to the dish… : Before you begin anything with this dish, make the carrot juice and truffle vinaigrette….they can be done days ahead of time if you like. : You will need two sauté pans for this…my suggestion is to start the vegetables first, lower the heat when they are almost finished and then cook the fish.
For the vegetables: : In a sauté pan over high heat, melt 1 oz. of olive oil with the butter. : Add the shallots and cook for 1 minute. : Add the mushrooms, season with some salt and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes. : Lower the heat to medium. : Add the blanched haricot verts…sauté for 1 minute more. : Add a pinch of thyme. : Squeeze half of the lemon on the vegetables right before serving; taste and adjust seasoning.
For the Halibut: : On the flesh side only, season the fish with salt and pepper. : Dip the top of the fish into the egg wash, careful to not let any drip down the sides of the fish…try to have the level of the egg wash liquid low enough that you can just get the top (same with the level of the potato flakes in the next step). : Next, dip the egg washed side of the fish into the seasoned potato flakes and press down a bit to make them stick. : Repeat with the rest of the fish. : Do not preheat the sauté pan, but place the oil (3 oz.) in the pan and then put the fish, potato crust side down into the pan and place it on the stove over medium to high heat. I promise the fish will not stick. : After about 3 minutes, the crust should be golden brown, if it is not, raise the heat to high. : When the crust has turned golden brown, season the “skin side” of the fish with salt and pepper before flipping it over. : Flip the fish, cook for 1 minute and turn the stove off. : Deglaze the fish with the remaining lemon juice…squeeze it around the pan, careful not to get it on the crust, as the moisture will ruin the crust you have worked so hard to develop…swirl the fish around in the pan instead so as to get the lemon on it.
To plate: : In the center of 4 dinner plates, spoon some of the vegetable mixture. : Place the halibut, potato crust side up on top of the vegetables. : Spoon a few drops of the carrot reduction (room temperature) around the plate. : Spoon some of the truffle vinaigrette around the carrot reduction. : Serve.
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