Slow Roasted Halibut With Deconstructed Ratatouille Recipes

SLOW ROASTED HALIBUT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• For the fish: Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Butter the parchment with 2 tablespoons of the butter, then smear another 2 tablespoons on the halibut fillets. Season the fillets on both sides with salt and place in the oven to slow roast until opaque and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a deep-sided pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons butter, the clams, garlic, shallots, parsley and a pinch of salt. And the wine, immediately cover with a lid and steam until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Transfer the clams to a bowl and set aside. Pour the clam cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
• For the beurre blanc: Combine the reserved clam liquid, Champagne, thyme, bay leaf, shallots, lemon juice and peel and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduced by two-thirds (the saucepan will be almost dry), 10 to 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer fitted with a coffee filter into a small pot.
• Place the pot over medium-low heat, add a few cubes of the chilled butter and whisk constantly until the butter is melted. Repeat the process 2 more times with the remaining butter. Don't allow the sauce to boil or it will break. Whisk in the creme fraiche and a pinch of salt. Using an immersion blender, blend the uni into the sauce, then stir in the chives. Remove the clams from their shells, add them to the beurre blanc and keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.
• For serving: Cover the bottom of each plate with a layer of zucchini slices, slightly overlapping them in a circular pattern. Top with the lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a halibut fillet on the zucchini, spoon the beurre blanc over the fish, then top with caviar.

HERB AND GARLIC CRUSTED HALIBUT WITH OVEN BAKED RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Brush each fillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, dredge, skin side down in the herb/bread mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan until almost smoking. Add the fillets, crust-side down and saute until lightly golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, turn the fillets over and continue cooking until the fish is just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium casserole, make a layer of onions, drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some of the herbs. Repeat with the remaining vegetables. Cover and bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, pressing down on the vegetables occasionally, until the vegetables are completely tender. Garnish with fresh parsley.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the vegetables: Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Halve onions through their roots, and slice halves into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. Seed peppers, and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Spread each vegetable on a separate rimmed baking sheet (use extra sheets as necessary). Add the 3 cloves of smashed garlic to the onion pan. Add 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans. Sprinkle salt lightly over vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil on each of the pans.
• Place all the pans in the oven (or work in batches if they don't fit at once). Cook until vegetables are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes for the peppers (their skins should shrivel), 40 to 45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini (the eggplant should crisp slightly and the zucchini should be well cooked, so let them go 3 to 5 minutes longer than you normally might), and 60 to 65 minutes for the onions. Don't worry about the vegetables being pretty; they will meld into the ratatouille. Shake or stir the pans every 15 to 20 minutes or so, especially the onions.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
• Using a paring knife, peel the cooled tomatoes (the skins should slip right off). Halve tomatoes across their equators. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Discard seeds but save juices. Dice tomatoes and add to the reserved juices in bowl.
• Finely grate or mince remaining garlic clove. Add garlic to tomatoes along with bay leaves and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Once vegetables are done cooking, combine them on one baking sheet or a large shallow baking dish and add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss well. Vegetables will be stacked, and that's O.K. Cover generously with olive oil, using remaining ¼ cup oil or more, and sprinkle with salt. Everything should have a good coat of oil, but should not be drowning in it. Cook at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and imbued with juices and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm, or let cool.

ROASTED HALIBUT WITH LEMONS, OLIVES AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place fish in a baking dish, brush fillets with 1 teaspoon of oil and season with salt and chile pepper. Top each fillet with a rosemary branch and several slices of lemon. Drizzle remaining oil over lemon slices and sprinkle with additional salt. Scatter olives over fish and pan.
• Bake until just opaque, about 10 minutes. If lemon slices have not browned or singed (this will depend on how thinly you slice them), place pan under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve drizzled with more olive oil; sprinkle with more salt and chili, if desired.

PASTA SHELLS WITH HALIBUT AND OVEN-ROASTED RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spread next 5 ingredients on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Push vegetables to sides of sheet. Place fish in center of sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until just opaque in center, about 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot. Add roasted vegetables and enough reserved pasta cooking water to pasta to moisten; toss. Cut fish into 1/2-inch pieces; add to pasta and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper.
• *A dried herb mixture available at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.