Grilled Halibut
This entire recipe is actually a compilation of a few things I have served with fish before, so if you’d like to keep things simple you could always serve any kind of cooked fish with either the roasted cauliflower steak or the fried heirloom tomatoes — but together it is always a crowd pleaser! The recipe serves four:
_Step 1
_INGREDIENTS:
1 large heirloom tomato
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 egg
3 TBSP AP flour
2 cups Canola oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
* Mix egg with the AP Flour to form a batter.
* Slice Tomato into four slices.
* In a food processor, mix the basil, Panko and Parmesan cheese together.
* Dip the sliced tomatoes into the egg batter, remove excess batter and then bread with the parmesan-basil bread crumbs.
* Place the breaded tomatoes in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry them.
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_Step 2
_INGREDIENTS:
2 heads cauliflower
1 cup Italian salad dressing
2 to 4 TBSP Trader Joe’s sun-dried tomato spread
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
* First step for this part is to make the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. All you have to do is take as much Italian dressing as you’d like and blend in the sun-dried tomato spread using a hand blender. This can be done a day in advance, as it holds for a long time in the refrigerator.
* Slice one side of the cauliflower head until you get right at the edge of the core. Remove excess leaves on the bottom, but keep the center core intact as this will be what keeps the “steak” together — and it is good to eat. You will get two good steak slices out of each head, so two heads will provide you four portions.
* Lay the cauliflower steaks down on a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Then drizzle some of the sun-dried tomato dressing on both sides.
* Save the remaining dressing for the salad.
* Heat up a saute pan to medium-high and then sear the cauliflower steaks until golden brown on both sides. The cauliflower will become tender during this process. Place on another plate, cover with plastic wrap and then hold in the refrigerator.
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_Step 3
_INGREDIENTS:
1 bag premixed salad greens
1 Belgian endive, cut Julienne** **
INSTRUCTIONS:
* Mix all greens together and hold in refrigerator.
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_Step 4
_INGREDIENTS:
4 6-ounce halibut fillets
Kosher salt, fresh black pepper
Italian vinaigrette
INSTRUCTIONS:
* Season the halibut with the vinaigrette and salt and pepper.
* You will need to juggle a few steps here to finish things off, or enlist some help.
* Heat up the Canola oil in a saute pan to medium-high. While this is heating up, turn on your grill and also pull out your bowl of mixed salad greens.
* While that equipment heats up, take your dinner plates and place the cauliflower steaks on them; leave them on the counter to soon be finished off.
* Pan-fry the tomatoes. When you turn them to fry the other side (a few minutes per side), I would then place the halibut on the grill.
* Finish frying off the tomatoes, remove them and place on some folded paper towels to drain.
* Now you can pay your full attention to grilling the halibut, which will take 5 to 7 minutes per side. Use an electric thermometer to check the internal cooking temperature so you don’t have to pull the fillet apart. You want to cook the fish to 145 degrees F.
* When the fish is done, you can now assemble the rest of the plates. First, lay a fried tomato near the cauliflower. Second, you can now add some vinaigrette to your mixed greens, toss them and place the greens next to the tomato. Place the fish on the tomato and drizzle some dressing on the fish and serve.
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About the Chef — Steve Black attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and began his hotel career at the Sheraton Boston Hotel & Towers in 1984. In 1990, Chef Black traveled abroad to Strasbourg, France, where he had the opportunity to work with several 5-Star Michelin Chefs. Returning to the U.S. in 1992, he moved to San Diego, California, and joined the culinary teams at the La Costa Resort & Spa and at the Hyatt La Jolla Aventine. In 1993, he became the Executive Chef at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina on Harbor Island. During his off time, Steve fishes the offshore waters from San Clemente Island down to Ensenada and everywhere in between from his 25-foot Boston Whaler Revenge.
