Recipe: Grilled Pacific Halibut

Article content

Created by Executive Chef Harris Sakalis of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, this delicious dish is a celebration of halibut. Fresh steaks come together with butter-braised leeks, fingerling potatoes and savory trout roe butter for an unforgettable main course.

Article content

2 halibut fillets

Article content

leek stew

2 leeks

2 oz (60 ml) dry white wine

2-3 sprigs of thyme

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon (15 ml) unsalted butter

fingerling potatoes

¾ lb (340 g) fingerling potatoes, halved

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons (30 mL) split green olives

Trout roe butter

1 lb + 1 tablespoon (469 g) unsalted butter (cold)

1 shallot, sliced

½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh trout roe

A couple sprigs of fresh dill and parsley

Preheat your oven to 340°F and place 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.

After washing the leeks well, cut the white portion into 3/4-inch disks. Place the sliced ​​leeks in a baking dish with the white wine, thyme, lemon zest and butter. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place it in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Once this is done, remove from the oven and keep warm, or chill for later use.

Article content

Article content

While your leeks are in the oven, add a bay leaf, a garlic clove, and a large pinch of salt to your boiling water. Place your fingerling potatoes in the water, turn the heat down to medium, and simmer until you can pierce them with a fork, about 15 minutes. Once done, drain the water and let cool.

For the Trout Roe Butter Sauce, place a small to medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of your butter and the shallot. Sauté for 1 minute to soften, then add the white wine. Reduce this by half, add your heavy cream and halve again.

Once reduced, cut the rest of the butter into cubes and add to the saucepan one at a time while whisking continuously to make a delicious, rich sauce. Be careful not to overheat the sauce, you can simply lift the saucepan off the heat if things are getting too hot.

Article content

After all the butter has been added and the sauce is fully combined, pour it through a fine strainer into a separate bowl and add the trout roe.

To bring the dish together, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, and place the halibut fillets in the skillet. Brown your halibut until it reaches an internal temperature of 149°F.

Heat a separate nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the sliced, cooked fingerling potatoes and the cracked green olives. sauté for a couple of minutes, add the braised leeks and sauté for another minute. Squeeze in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, add some chopped parsley and dill, and remove the pan from the heat.

Arrange the potatoes and braised leeks on a plate, top with the halibut, and top with the trout roe butter sauce. Garnish with a little more chopped dill and parsley and serve.

Serve two.