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Pistachio-Crusted Halibut on Green Onion Vichyssoise
Summer 2016
Vichyssoise, a creamy cold leek and potato soup, was a summertime tradition when I was growing up. I’m bringing back the good times with a twist: green onions. Plus I’m making the soup the setting for a moist piece of pistachio-crusted halibut, creating a riot of green, tons of texture and a couple of temperatures, too.
Serves 4
VICHYSSOISE
1 bunch green onions, trimmed and cut in half
½ cup (125 mL) chopped parsley
1 tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter
1 small cooking onion, sliced
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups (500 mL) no-added-salt chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup (250 mL) 35% whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
HALIBUT
4 skinless, boneless halibut fillets (6 oz/175 g each)
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup (125 mL) shelled salted pistachios
3 tbsp (45 mL) panko bread crumbs
½ cup (125 mL) parsley leaves
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tsp (10 mL) lemon zest and 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) water
Salt to taste
1 To make vichyssoise, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add green onions and parsley, and blanch for 30 seconds. Rinse in a strainer under cold water, then pat dry of excess water. Roughly chop and set aside.
2 In the same rinsed and dried saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until very soft but not browned, stirring often,about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower to a simmer for 25 minutes.
3 Remove saucepan from heat. Let cool slightly, then add to a blender along with blanched vegetables and cream. Purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It will need a good dose of salt since nothing has been seasoned yet.
4 Chill vichyssoise for at least 3 hours or, better still, overnight to allow flavours to develop. Once it’s cold you will need to adjust seasoning again by adding more salt.
5 Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
6 Line a baking sheet with foil. Place fish on foil and season with salt and pepper.
7 In a blender or food processor pulse pistachios. Remove 2 tbsp (30 mL) of pistachios and set aside. To remaining pistachios in the blender add panko, parsley, cayenne, lemon zest and juice, then pulse. Stream in olive oil and water as machine is running. Add salt to taste.
8 Evenly spread chunky topping over halibut, then sprinkle with reserved chopped pistachios. Roast in preheated oven for 12 minutesor until just cooked through. Serve in the middle of a pool of green onion vichyssoise.
Serves 4
