Chile Glazed Halibut With Avocado Tomatillo Sauce Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

CHILE-GLAZED HALIBUT WITH AVOCADO-TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• For glaze:
• Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Stir before using.
• For Sauce:
• Combine all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.
• For fish:
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Make crosswise slits in each fillet, cutting to within 1/4 inch of bottom and spacing slits about 3/4 inch apart. Brush glaze over top and into slits. Place orange slices in slits. Sprinkle fish with ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Place fish, orange side up, on grill; cover and cook until fish is opaque, about 8 minutes. Using wide spatula, carefully transfer fish to platter. Let rest several minutes. Spoon avocado sauce onto plates, spreading slightly. Arrange 1 fillet over sauce on each plate and serve.
• *Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapeños canned in adobo sauce. They are available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and at Latin markets.
• **Green and tomato-like with a papery husk, tomatillos are sold in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Latin markets.

CHILE GLAZE

Steps:

• Tear chiles into large pieces and toast in a dry heavy skillet over moderate heat, about 30 seconds on each side. Soak chiles in 1/2 cup hot water in a 1-cup glass measure to soften.
• Mash tamarind with remaining 1/2 cup hot water to soften and force through a sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
• Purée chiles with soaking water, orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, oil, and mustard in a blender. Add tamarind mixture and honey and blend well. Pour through sieve into a small saucepan and simmer, partially covered (mixture will spatter) and stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

GRILLED HALIBUT WITH CREAMY GUACAMOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Halve the avocado and reserve one half, rubbed with the lemon juice. In a blender puree the remaining avocado half, peeled, the lime juice, 2 tablespoons of the water, the scallion, the cumin, the cayenne, the sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste, scraping down the sides of the blender, until the sauce is smooth. Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and stir in enough additional water to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
• Grill the halibut, brushed generously on both sides with the oil, in an oiled ridged grill pan or on an oiled rack set about 6 inches over glowing coals for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until it just flakes. Arrange the steaks on 2 plates, nap them with the sauce, and garnish each serving with the reserved avocado, peeled and sliced thin, fanning the slices, and the lime slices. Sprinkle the plates with the tomato.

CHILE-GLAZED PORK CHOPS WITH FRESH TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• Slather both sides of the pork chops with the chile paste and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes (and up to a few hours).
• Leave a light coating of the chile paste on the pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Place a large, well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until the meat turns golden brown.
• Pour in enough beer to barely cover the chops. Cover the pan (top with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan if yours does not have a lid) and decrease the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn the pork chops over and cook for another 15 minutes.
• Uncover the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Allow the liquid to reduce almost completely, flipping the pork chops over every few minutes to ensure that both sides become glazed with the reduced sauce. This should take about 10 minutes.
• Serve warm with tomatillo sauce.
• INGREDIENTS
• Pork Chops
• Because bone-in pork chops are more flavorful than boneless chops, I prefer them in this recipe. But feel free to use either one. I also like to use the thick cuts, but the thin ones also work well. Just make sure to decrease the braising time if you are using thin cuts because they will cook in less time.
• TECHNIQUES
• Braising the Pork Chop
• Braising is a technique used to tenderize tough cuts of meat. The meat is first seared to develop a nice golden crust, then simmered in a liquid to cook it through without drying it out. You will find variations of this technique throughout the meat recipes in this book, as Mexican cooking tends to use tougher (and tastier) cuts of meat.
• ADVANCE PREPARATION
• The red chile paste and tomatillo sauce can be made well in advance (up to 3 days before). Once the pork chops are braised, they can be held, covered, in a warm (250°F) oven for about 1 hour before serving.