Sunday Dinner

In light of the fresh Halibut at my local store, and my desire to use the 'faux caviar' tapioca in practice, our Sunday dinner this week was:

- Pan Roasted Halibut with Balsamic Caviar, Crispy Polenta, Sunchoke Puree with a Roasted Beet and Fruit Salad

Halibut - marinate the filets (about 6 oz. portions, skin off) in a nice Spanish Arbequina olive oil as well as some lemon thyme. Season with salt, grains of paradise. In a hot (cast iron) pan, add olive oil, sear filets (herb side down) and then flip, and finish in the oven (firm not flaky). Rest.

Tapioca - use the technique from my previous post and soak in a mixture of 1/4 cup balsamic, 1/4 cup white balsamic, and 1 tsp. Worcestershire.

Polenta - heat a pan, add 1 Tablespoon of oil, minced garlic (1 clove) and 1/2 cup polenta. Toast about a minute. Add 2 cups water, cook until the liquid is absorbed. In a cool, oiled pan (sheet tray also works,) add the polenta, spread evenly and chill. Remove from the pan when set, cut into circles, sautee to color and crisp, finish in a 350 F oven.

Sunchoke Puree - skin and slice the (3 large) Sunchokes, simmer slowly in 1/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup milk until softened (careful not to burn.) Puree (add more cream if necessary.) Mount warm sauce with butter.

Beets - coat (2) Chiogga beets in olive oil, salt, pepper, and enclose them in foil and roast at about 350 F for an hour. Cool. Cut into squares/circles and slice thin.

Salad - dice asian pear, kiwi, pickled loquat (homemade,) and sun-dried tomatoes, and then toss them with sunflower seeds, salt, grains of paradise, and a chiffonade of Japanese mint.

Plate and enjoy!

I found the tapioca caviar added a nice acidic balance to the richness of the fish as well as the sunchoke puree, and the salad served as a nice contrast (temperature and flavor) to the fish/polenta. We paired this dinner with a really nice Fumaio (blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) from Banfi.