So this was the first time I made fish at home, so I was quite nervous of messing it up, but I think it turned out quite alright. I watched dozens of different recipes to come up with this final version.
There are multiple components to this meal, so I've broken these down by parts. Because each component cooks quite quickly (except for the potatoes), it's critical to get the timing right. I've listed out the ingredients by item and in the cook cycle I've done it by process to get all the pieces done, not by meal.
The quantities listed is ideal for two people.
Here you have it, Parmesan crusted halibut with green asparagus, mushroom wild rice pilaf, potato medallions, served with a beurre blanc sauce, which is just a fancy French way of saying lemon butter sauce :)
The fish
- I went with halibut. You could swap with cod, or an equally flaky white fish, make sure it's fresh. A 200 gram filet per person is about ideal since we have a lot of accompaniments. If you're planning on just making the fish, then you can go with a larger portion for the filet.
- a bed of panko/bread crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper (optional)
Wild rice and mushroom pilaf
- Long grain wild rice
- about 100 grams of wild mushrooms (or any other kind is fine)
- 1 tea spoon of olive oil or butter
- 1 table spoon of fresh cilantro
- 1 table spoon of crushed pistachio or cashew nuts (optional)
- 1/4 cup of sliced onions (optional)
Rosemary potato medallions
- 2 large potatoes (you can get any type, it should work fine)
- 1 table spoon of fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 tea spoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tea spoons of balsamic vinaigrette or creme (optional)
Asparagus
- 500 grams of fresh green asparagus; you don't need to peel, just cut off about 5 cms from the bottom of the stalk - those parts are really hard and don't cook well.
- 1 tea spoon of chopped garlic
- 1 table spoon of broth; any kind will do, I went with veggie
- 1 table spoon of acid of some kind, you could go with white/red wine vinegar, rice wine, lemon juice; I went with mirin - which is a slightly sweeter Japanese alternative.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tea spoon olive oil
beurre blanc sauce
- 1 cup of white wine
- the juice of one large lemon
- about 4 table spoons (in cubed form) of cold butter (it's important that this be cold)
- 1 table spoon of shallots
- herbs of choice - I went with a table spoon of crushed thyme
- a table spoon of finely chopped parsley to finish
Preparation - start to finish takes about 90 minutes for everything
So, the potatoes will take the longest to cook so let's start with those. Keep the skin on, cut into circles about 3 cm thick and put the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to wash off excess starch. Pre-heat the oven to 200C or 450F.
In a bowl, put in the rest of the ingredients for the potatoes. After rinsing off potatoes in cold water, put them in the bowl and mix nicely. Put the potato slices in foil and cover. They're going to go into the oven for about 40 minutes. If the oven is ready, in they go, otherwise, put them aside and wait.
We'll start on the pilaf. If you have a rice cooker, put the washed wild rice and set it to start. Else, put it in a pot wand set to boil as per instructions. In the mean time, slice up the mushrooms. In a hot pan toss in the mushrooms. You should hear the sizzle of the water escaping the mushrooms - if you don't, the pan isn't hot enough. Once the mushrooms brown a bit, put in the butter and the crushed nuts and onions if you're using those. Saute till the mushrooms basically lose half their volume. Over with foil and set aside. We'll need this once the rice is done.
Let's get started on the asparagus. Cut the bottom of the asparagus and wash them and dry them. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the asparagus and toss it together. Get a pan (ideally cast iron), piping hot. Once the pan is smoking. Reduce the heat to medium and pour the olive oil in and toss in the asparagus. The asparagus should blister and sizzle in the heat of the pan. The cook time will depend on how thick the stalks are. Once the stalks begin to soften put in a small knob of butter if you like if the pan is getting dry and add the acid of choice here. Continue cooking till the stem begins to wilt. You're almost done. Pour in the broth. Turn the heat off, cover with foil and set aside - let it cook in the steam of the broth.
Before we start on the fish, you have to get the butter sauce going simultaneously. In a sauce pan, pour in all the ingredients together except for the butter and set on high-medium heat. Let all the liquid reduce to about 75% of the original amount.
Now, let's get started on the fish. In a plate or pan, spread the panko and Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Lay the filet on the the crumbs and pat down nicely. You can flip and coat the other side as well, but I preferred not to. I just sprinkled and rubbed the other side with salt, pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper.
In a medium hot pan, put the olive oil in and lay down the halibut crumb side down. Make sure the pan is not too hot otherwise you will burn the crumbs. Lift the edges a bit and swirl the oil around the pan. Watch the edges, once those turn golden brown it's done. Carefully flip the filet, it might break if you're not careful. Toast the other side as needed. Turn off the heat.
While the fish is cooking, you have to keep an eye on the butter sauce and make sure it is not burning. Once the liquid has reduced, turn the heat down to simmer and start adding the cubes of cold butter and start slowly whisking it in. As you keep adding the butter and you keep reducing the liquid, and whisking, the sauce will thicken. Once it has the consistency of a gravy, take off the heat and strain it through to a warm bowl. This sauce does not stay nice if not kept warm. Add in the chopped parsley. You're done.
One last thing. Get the potatoes out of the stove and make sure they are cooked through. Get those mushrooms and onions cooked from before and mix in the cooked wild rice. Pilaf is done as well.
Alright you're all done. Now to serve.
Plating
In a nice large plate, set a thin bed of the pilaf. Layer on the asparagus on top of the rice. Now the fish comes on top of the asparagus. Put the potato medallions on the side and drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette. Pour the beurre blanc sauce on top and serve :)
There are multiple components to this meal, so I've broken these down by parts. Because each component cooks quite quickly (except for the potatoes), it's critical to get the timing right. I've listed out the ingredients by item and in the cook cycle I've done it by process to get all the pieces done, not by meal.
The quantities listed is ideal for two people.
Here you have it, Parmesan crusted halibut with green asparagus, mushroom wild rice pilaf, potato medallions, served with a beurre blanc sauce, which is just a fancy French way of saying lemon butter sauce :)
The fish
- I went with halibut. You could swap with cod, or an equally flaky white fish, make sure it's fresh. A 200 gram filet per person is about ideal since we have a lot of accompaniments. If you're planning on just making the fish, then you can go with a larger portion for the filet.
- a bed of panko/bread crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper (optional)
Wild rice and mushroom pilaf
- Long grain wild rice
- about 100 grams of wild mushrooms (or any other kind is fine)
- 1 tea spoon of olive oil or butter
- 1 table spoon of fresh cilantro
- 1 table spoon of crushed pistachio or cashew nuts (optional)
- 1/4 cup of sliced onions (optional)
Rosemary potato medallions
- 2 large potatoes (you can get any type, it should work fine)
- 1 table spoon of fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 tea spoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tea spoons of balsamic vinaigrette or creme (optional)
Asparagus
- 500 grams of fresh green asparagus; you don't need to peel, just cut off about 5 cms from the bottom of the stalk - those parts are really hard and don't cook well.
- 1 tea spoon of chopped garlic
- 1 table spoon of broth; any kind will do, I went with veggie
- 1 table spoon of acid of some kind, you could go with white/red wine vinegar, rice wine, lemon juice; I went with mirin - which is a slightly sweeter Japanese alternative.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tea spoon olive oil
beurre blanc sauce
- 1 cup of white wine
- the juice of one large lemon
- about 4 table spoons (in cubed form) of cold butter (it's important that this be cold)
- 1 table spoon of shallots
- herbs of choice - I went with a table spoon of crushed thyme
- a table spoon of finely chopped parsley to finish
Preparation - start to finish takes about 90 minutes for everything
So, the potatoes will take the longest to cook so let's start with those. Keep the skin on, cut into circles about 3 cm thick and put the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to wash off excess starch. Pre-heat the oven to 200C or 450F.
In a bowl, put in the rest of the ingredients for the potatoes. After rinsing off potatoes in cold water, put them in the bowl and mix nicely. Put the potato slices in foil and cover. They're going to go into the oven for about 40 minutes. If the oven is ready, in they go, otherwise, put them aside and wait.
We'll start on the pilaf. If you have a rice cooker, put the washed wild rice and set it to start. Else, put it in a pot wand set to boil as per instructions. In the mean time, slice up the mushrooms. In a hot pan toss in the mushrooms. You should hear the sizzle of the water escaping the mushrooms - if you don't, the pan isn't hot enough. Once the mushrooms brown a bit, put in the butter and the crushed nuts and onions if you're using those. Saute till the mushrooms basically lose half their volume. Over with foil and set aside. We'll need this once the rice is done.
Let's get started on the asparagus. Cut the bottom of the asparagus and wash them and dry them. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the asparagus and toss it together. Get a pan (ideally cast iron), piping hot. Once the pan is smoking. Reduce the heat to medium and pour the olive oil in and toss in the asparagus. The asparagus should blister and sizzle in the heat of the pan. The cook time will depend on how thick the stalks are. Once the stalks begin to soften put in a small knob of butter if you like if the pan is getting dry and add the acid of choice here. Continue cooking till the stem begins to wilt. You're almost done. Pour in the broth. Turn the heat off, cover with foil and set aside - let it cook in the steam of the broth.
Before we start on the fish, you have to get the butter sauce going simultaneously. In a sauce pan, pour in all the ingredients together except for the butter and set on high-medium heat. Let all the liquid reduce to about 75% of the original amount.
Now, let's get started on the fish. In a plate or pan, spread the panko and Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Lay the filet on the the crumbs and pat down nicely. You can flip and coat the other side as well, but I preferred not to. I just sprinkled and rubbed the other side with salt, pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper.
In a medium hot pan, put the olive oil in and lay down the halibut crumb side down. Make sure the pan is not too hot otherwise you will burn the crumbs. Lift the edges a bit and swirl the oil around the pan. Watch the edges, once those turn golden brown it's done. Carefully flip the filet, it might break if you're not careful. Toast the other side as needed. Turn off the heat.
While the fish is cooking, you have to keep an eye on the butter sauce and make sure it is not burning. Once the liquid has reduced, turn the heat down to simmer and start adding the cubes of cold butter and start slowly whisking it in. As you keep adding the butter and you keep reducing the liquid, and whisking, the sauce will thicken. Once it has the consistency of a gravy, take off the heat and strain it through to a warm bowl. This sauce does not stay nice if not kept warm. Add in the chopped parsley. You're done.
One last thing. Get the potatoes out of the stove and make sure they are cooked through. Get those mushrooms and onions cooked from before and mix in the cooked wild rice. Pilaf is done as well.
Alright you're all done. Now to serve.
Plating
In a nice large plate, set a thin bed of the pilaf. Layer on the asparagus on top of the rice. Now the fish comes on top of the asparagus. Put the potato medallions on the side and drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette. Pour the beurre blanc sauce on top and serve :)
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