Comfort to some is a hot bowl of macaroni noodles smothered in melted cheese or a buttermilk fried chicken breast atop buttery skin-on mashed potatoes. It is for me too. Unfortunately, neither of those dishes come close to slow-carb compliancy. So on this cold winter night I decided on another type of comfort: a beefy, white flaky piece of halibut sitting atop a pile of roasted brussel sprouts and caramelized shallots. I envisioned a rustic dish that would be both hearty and light, providing plenty of richness and flavor as well as nutrition.
Originally, I intended on the dish to be garnished with a generous handful of roasted pistachios. I was forced to call an audible when, much to my chagrin, the pistachios spent a litttttle too long in the oven and came out oxidized (burnt).
Too bad, they would have been an AWESOME audition to this dish. Lesson #1: PAY ATTENTION TO NUTS ROASTING IN THE OVEN!!! Roasting nuts is a must in order to extract the utmost flavor out of them as it heats up and activates the essential oils that were previously dormant in the raw stage. BE CAREFUL! Two minutes can be the difference between perfectly roasted, aromatic nuts and a burnt pile of horse feed. I digress.Let's start this thing again. I trimmed the brussel sprouts of there roots and then halved them. I tossed the sprouts in a large bowl with some leftover garlic oil, a dollop of creole mustard, a few dashes of sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and a handful of thinly sliced shallots. Shallots are sweeter and milder than white or yellow onions, and are perfect for times when you want that great caramelized onion flavor without overpowering the rest of the dish. When dressing is evenly distributed over the brussel sprouts, I spread them out evenly on a sheet pan and roast in 375 degree oven until the edges are just caramelized and the sprouts are soft (about 20 minutes).
Atop those brussel sprouts, almost any type of white, flaky fish would flourish. Hell, those brussel sprouts would make a shoe taste good. I decided to go for the home run and purchased a beautiful 8 oz filet of wild halibut from Whole Foods. I wanted to
get a nice sear so I used my trusty cast iron skillet (my weapon of choice in the kitchen) as the hardware for the operation. I simply seasoned the halibut with salt and pepper and dropped it into a preheated pan coated with a thin layer of garlic oil. When setting the filet in the oil, move it around slightly on the surface of the pan as you slowly release it. This will help keep it from sticking to the pan. Once you set the fish down, DO NOT TOUCH IT until it gets a nice brown sear (about 8 minutes). Gently wedge a spatula under the fish and flip it over to sear the other side (give it another 5 minutes or so).
And there you have it. I piled the brussel sprouts high and topped it with the seared halibut filet and drizzled the whole thing with a wedge's worth freshly squeezed lemon juice. Perfect. This dish is so simple yet elegant. It's a whole lot easier than it seams and comes out looking like a $30 main from a ritzy seafood restaurant. I enjoyed it while I polished off the bottle of Napa zinfandel from last night beside a hot fire place. This was the ultimate way to wrap up another successful day.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/ Shallots
Yield: 4 c (8 servings)
Source: Andy original
4 c brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 T garlic oil (or ev olive oil)
½ c shallots, sliced
1 T creole mustard
1 T sherry vinegar
1 T salt
2 t black pepper
-toss brussels with oil, shallots, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper
-roast at 375 until brussels are lightly caremelized
Pan-seared Halibut
8 oz halibut filet
1 T garlic oil
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1/8 lemon wedge
-season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper.
-sear the halibut in garlic oil over a hot skillet until crispy and golden brown (about 8 minutes). flip and sear other side until cooked through (about 5 more minutes)
-plate the halibut and season with a squeeze of lemon. serve.
that top picture looks almost exactly like what Bonnie ordered at Wink on Saturday, only about $25 cheaper
ReplyDeleteI tried your recipe all the way through, but nothing happened. Then I looked back word-for-word and realized I forgot the last part: "serve." Whoops. It's much better once you eat it.
ReplyDeleteI tested a new breakfast this week. Take half a can of black beans, egg beaters, and half a can of spinach, and mix em together in a bowl. Microwave it until it looks like Swamp Thing; it will also grow like a lava bubble. Take it out of the microwave and cover it with salsa. DO NOT LOOK AT IT WHILE EATING. In fact, it's best not to even think about how gross this is. Once you set aside its superficial nastiness, it actually tastes pretty good, and it's awesome for you. I call it The Thelander because it looks and smells horrible but tastes delicious.
TVJ, way to go to a place called Wink.
Congrats, Tom, you've somehow found a way to ruin breakfast!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I see breakfast as the easiest meal to achieve w/o bread or dairy. I do a couple spoons of almond butter instantly upon waking, have 2-3 cups of espresso w/ cinnamon, and then sauté onions and garlic with bell peppers, spinach, serranos, and/or mushrooms with my eggs in the fat leftover from my bacon. Done and done. I have blackberries every other morning or so, a handful of blackberries is only 2g of sugar. Eating a grapefruit at breakfast apparently flattens your insulin spike for the day, too, and I saw a conference where Ferriss was saying grapefruits and berries are the fruits to go with, if you must.