Smart food: Pistachio-crusted Halibut with spicy yogurt sauce

It's funny how one's priorities and eating habits change when you're expecting a kid. Suddenly my natural inclination for bacon-cheeseburgers and tater tots has to take a back seat to the idea that when you are in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy the developmental benefits of fish are somehow greater than the benefits, both spiritually and developmentally, of cured pork products (personally I'm waiting more scientific research on this subject). Supposedly those fishy omega-3's lead to greater brain development. Hey, if w eating a piece of fish now leads junior later in life to better analyze and explain the differences and merits of bone-in versus boneless rib eye steaks, then I have to get with that parenting program. Besides, we'll have plenty of time to share bacon in the future!!
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Pistachio-crusted Halibut with spicy yogurt sauce
adapted from epicurious
serves 4

This was delicious and incredibly easy and fast to put together. A great last minute meal. Make sure the skillet is fully heated before putting fish in to help prevent sticking.- bb

ingredients:
for halibut:
4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) pieces skinless halibut fillet (about 6 ounces each)
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped
3 tablespoons cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

for spicy yogurt sauce:
1 cup thick Greek yogurt (8 ounces)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced (3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried chili pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

method:
Put fish in a shallow baking dish, pour milk over it, and chill, covered, turning over once, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together pistachios and cornmeal in a shallow bowl.

Remove fish from milk, letting excess drip off. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in cornmeal-pistachio mixture. Transfer to a clean plate as coated.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté fish, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total.

While fish cooks, stir together all ingredients for spicy yogurt.

Serve fish with spicy yogurt on the side.

Thai Fish Curry: healthy food for a growing family!

Tired of looking at that piece of fried chicken from the previous post that has been staring at you for the past week and a half? Me too, so it's time to get off the blogging slacker seat and get some fresh material up here. I mean it's not like I've been going hungry the last few weeks. With plenty of deliciousness backed up in the blogging pipeline, I'll start off with this excellent bit of Thai-ishness that w and I had last night. We've been hitting the heavy food thing pretty hard right now, and with w carrying the next generation eating obsessive inside her ever expanding belly, something lighter for us and brain-healthy for the young 'un seemed in order. I was in the mood for something easy and flavorful, and since Thai curry always satisfies those needs, I jumped on the epicurious app on my iPhone (have I ever mentioned how much I love this app? Oh, yeah, I did here) to see what they might come up with. The first hit back was this Thai Fish Curry that was printed in Bon Appetit in 1992 (1992?? I am constantly amazed at the internet!). After reading the recipe and the comments, I did a little adapting, took a very few minutes to throw it together, and out came two very attractive and palate satisfying platefuls of southeast Asian flavors. It really is ridiculously easy, and the incredibly aromatic dry rub (pic at right) you process will leave you enough for another go, maybe with some chicken or shrimp subbed in for the halibut.
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Thai Fish Curry
adapted from epicurious/Bon Appetit
yield: Serves 2

ingredients:
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro stems
2 tablespoons minced fresh lemongrass (from bottom 6 inches of stalk)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 large garlic cloves, halved
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/4 pound 1 1/2-inch-thick halibut fillets, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup bottled clam juice
Minced fresh cilantro

method:
1-Blend first 9 ingredients in processor to dry paste, stopping frequently to scrape down sides of work bowl. (Paste can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

2-Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 rounded tablespoons spice paste; stir 1 minute. Add fish and cook 2 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs. Add coconut milk and clam juice and simmer until fish is cooked through, turning occasionally, about 4-6 minutes depending on thickness of fillets. Transfer fish to plate. Boil liquid until reduced to thick sauce, about 8 minutes. Season with salt. Return fish to sauce and heat through. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over rice.

"Fat" is my friend

Fat. A word loaded with possibilities and meanings. Some good: "fat of the land". Some not so: "fat America". Some that inspire awe and reverence: "bacon fat" and "butter fat". The last two are part of the raison d'etre for Jennifer McLagan's book, titled simply, and deliciously, "Fat". My friend DOR, knowing where my passions lie, recently gifted me with this tantalizing tome and I have been drooling ever since. There are so many temptations contained within these pages that it was hard to pick a starting point. With fish on w's mind this day, I chose McLagan's "Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Sage Butter", I suppose partly for the ability it gave me to rationalize that a healthy piece of wild caught fish would more than counteract any negative effects from 1/2 a stick of butter and four slices of cured pork product (I downsized the recipe below for the two of us). Good thinking, huh?

So it was that I prepared these gifts from the earth, and thus were we made happy, as if it were God's will. Beyond that faux-religiosity, this was one kick ass piece of fish. "Kick ass" probably doesn't do it justice. Sumptuous comes to mind. Luxurious. Or the highest accolade of dinner party worthy! This is a tremendously good plate of food, the prosciutto di parma working it's wonders, the lemony-buttery sage sauce providing decadently savory pleasure, and the fried sage leaves adding their own taste/textural delight. This pleases on so many levels, it really is remarkable. Your mouth will thank you for every bite!
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Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Sage Butter
from "Fat"
serves 6

ingredients:
Six 6-ounce skinless halibut fillets
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
36 fresh sage leaves
8-10 slices prosciutto (McLagan called for six in her recipe, but just in case they don't wrap all the way, it's best to have extra. Besides, you can eat any leftovers!-bb)
2 large lemons
7 tablespoons unsalted butter

method:
1-preheat oven to 400*. Season fillets with salt and pepper. Place 2 sage leaves on top of each fillet and then wrap each with a slice of prosciutto. The prosciutto will form a belt, enclosing the leaves but leaving the ends exposed. Cut 12 slices 1/4" thick from center of lemons, reserving the ends for their juice.

2-On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange pairs of lemon slices, slightly overlapping. Place a wrapped fillet on top of each pair of lemon slices. Bake the fish until it flakes and is opaque at its thickest part, 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

3-While the fish is cooking melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the remaining 24 sage leaves and cook, turning once or twice until crisp and the butter begins to brown, about 7 or 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add salt and the juice from the remaining lemon ends.

4-transfer the fish and the lemon slices to warmed plates. Pour any juices released from the fish into the sage butter sauce and pour the sauce over the fish. Serve immediately.

Cooks note: make sure all your fillets are of a similar size and thickness so they will cook at the same rate.

It may not be twinkies and bacon, but it's pretty damn good!

I know you all wanted to see the Bacon Twinkie Stonehenge recipe here today from the post below. Not only don't I have it, I wouldn't give it to you if I did. You think I don't care about you? Well, I do. I also care about all those pigs who gave their all to become what every pig dreams of (when they're not dreaming of becoming this), a nicely cooked piece of bacon, and preferably one not wrapped around a fucking Twinkie.

So, even if you don't know what's good for you, I do, and the recipe below while devoid of pork fat will definitely satisfy you in so many other ways. Plus it is guaranteed not to cause your heart to explode. Your stomach maybe, 'cause you won't be able to stop eating it! In fact, I would hazard a guess that this is one of healthiest and tastiest fish dishes you'll ever cook. And it is so fast, it makes a perfect last minute dinner. Once you have all the ingredients, you can do this start to finish in 20 minutes easy, including the roasted asparagus (asparagus recipe tomorrow...not that you need it it's so simple). You could also sub cod or any other firm white fish. I posted this halibut dish a couple of years ago, forgot about it until w mentioned it a couple of days ago, and since E.D.T. has thousands of new appetites to satisfy, it's time to share the love again!
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Halibut With Capers, Olives, And Tomatoes
from Bon Appetit
makes 4 servings.

ingredients:
4 6- to 7-ounce halibut fillets
All purpose flour
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large shallots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
1 tablespoon drained capers
1/3 cup bottled clam juice
1/4 cup dry white wine

method:
Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and sauté until lightly browned and just opaque in center, about 3 to 3-1/2 minutes per side. Transfer fish to platter. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same skillet. Add shallots and crushed red pepper; sauté 1 minute. Mix in tomatoes, olives, 1/4 cup basil, and capers. Add clam juice and wine. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup basil. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over fish.

Nori Wrapper...it's not just for sushi anymore!

One of the points of the Month of New Recipes exercise that w and I do in January, where for every meal we eat at home we have to try something new, is to discover new flavors, new recipes to work into my food A.D.D. addled mind, and new ways to try some our favorite edibles. This meal combines two of them...fresh halibut and nori wrappers. Both great in their usual realms, like on the grill and wrapped around sushi rolls, together they were awesome. Besides, how often do you get to make/use something called "Nori Jam"? Keep this away from the young 'uns, because this ain't Smucker's, I can tell you! But plopped gently on top of the über-fresh pieces of halibut from the fish monger at New Seasons (he cut off two fresh fillets off a new fish when I didn't like the looks of what was in the display case. This smelled so fresh when I got home...no fishyness, just a very light oceany aroma...perfect!), this was really amazing. Salt worriers be careful, because it has a pretty intense saltiness, but then again we used the recipe for four on two pieces....maybe a little overkill, but still pretty yummy. We did end up scraping a little off, and it was just right. This is a super-easy, unusual preparation that was in an article on Nori in yesterday's NYT, the recipe inspired by chef/Japanophile David Myers of LA's Sona. Try it out....your tastebuds will thank you!
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Halibut With Nori Jam
adapted from David Myers
time: 20 minutes

FOR NORI JAM:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 sheets nori, torn into small pieces

FOR HALIBUT:
4 6 to 8 ounce skinless halibut fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons nori jam
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sliced chives.

method:
1. For nori jam: In small saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to boil and add nori, stirring until nori is soft, about 30 seconds. Transfer to blender and purée until smooth. Return to pan and cook over medium heat until thickened and jamlike, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. For halibut: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season halibut with salt and pepper to taste. Place large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. When oil is very hot but not smoking, add fillets skinned side down and let them sit until browned on underside, about 3 minutes.

3. Transfer pan to oven and bake until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer fillets to warm platter and spread each fillet with about 1 teaspoon of nori jam. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and garnish with chives. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Keep 'Em Coming!!

In my continuing quest to not let any tomatoes that are dropping off of my plants almost faster than I can eat them go to waste, last night I trotted out another new recipe at the 50th Avenue kitchen. I had halibut on my mind, a cold bottle of J. Christopher Zoot Allures Blanc in the fridge, and a pile of cherry and roma tomatoes to get through. After doing a little recipe research, I came across this one at epicurious. Now, before you judge the dish by the picture, I admit this isn't my finest photographic effort. I should've served the compote alongside as per their suggestion. But I was slingin' food, and trust me when both w and I found this to be pretty damn delish, and we went with their whole serving suggestion of grilled zucchini and buttered egg noodles. Everything worked, and once again this was a quick, easy, seasonal plate of satisfaction. Oh, and the sauv blanc based Zoot was a perfect match, it's bright fruit, zippy acidity, and slight grassiness matching perfectly with the sweet, sharp tomato-caper sauce!

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Grilled Halibut with Warm Tomato Compote
adapted from epicurious.com
makes 2 Servings.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 6- to 8-ounce halibut fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1-2 cups chopped plum tomatoes/halved cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon (packed) chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
1 or 2 tablespoons salt packed capers, rinsed

preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Melt butter in heavy medium skillet. Brush fish on both sides with half of butter. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add shallots to butter remaining in skillet. Cook over high heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes to skillet and cook until juices evaporate, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add wine, tarragon, and capers and boil until compote is thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and keep warm.
Grill fish until just opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Spoon compote alongside fish.

Heavenly Halibut!

I've always been one of those people who say, "I really need to eat more fish." The problem is, one look at that meaty, bloody red rib eye in my butcher's case, or a fleeting thought of bacon-cheeseburgers, and I'm running out to the grill, hunk of meat in hand, all too ready to succumb to millenia of evolution. But last night, more because of the rain that was steadily falling here rather than any will to actually improve my diet, I grabbed a couple of halibut filets from the meat case at our market, which were fortunately located far enough away from the steaks so I could ignore their siren call.

Since grilling wasn't an option as I didn't want to schlep the Weber up to the covered part of our porch, I checked online for inspiration, and came across what seemed to be a perfectly delicious, seasonal halibut preparation at epicurious. Cooked in my big sauté pan, which is always a bonus, because since I'm not a "power tool guy" I get my fix from heavy cookware. Anyway, to cut to the chase, this was a super simple recipe that has instantly found a place in our regular repertoire. Throw a couple pieces of this halibut on your plates with some rainbow chard or other greens, a scoop of rice, and in less than 30 minutes start to finish you'll have yet another silly smile on your face!

Oh, and as for drinking material, we had a super chilled bottle of 2005 Loimer Gruner-Veltliner, a fresh, dry, crisp, vibrant white from Austria that was the total deal with the fish, matching up perfectly to the sweet cherry tomatoes and savory olive flavors in the sauce. Okay, now you're set...the rest is up to you!

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Halibut With Capers, Olives, And Tomatoes
Serve the fish and sauce over rice or couscous

ingredients:
4 6- to 7-ounce halibut fillets
All purpose flour
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large shallots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
1 tablespoon drained capers
1/3 cup bottled clam juice
1/4 cup dry white wine

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and sauté until lightly browned and just opaque in center, about 3 to 3-1/2 minutes per side. Transfer fish to platter. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same skillet. Add shallots and crushed red pepper; sauté 1 minute. Mix in tomatoes, olives, 1/4 cup basil, and capers. Add clam juice and wine. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup basil. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over fish.

Makes 4 servings.
Adapted from Bon Appetit