Lemon Glazed Halibut Fillets with Ramen Provencal
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
6 halibut fillets (about 2.5 pounds total) cleaned and deboned
½ cup flour
10 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup prepared lemon curd
1½ tablespoons dry sherry
1½ tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup diced red onion
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups vegetable broth, divided
Ramen Provençal
3 packages (3 ounces each) ramen noodles
1 cup assorted peppers (sweet and hot), julienne
½ cup thin sliced red onion
4 large cloves minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon prepared lemon curd
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium unpeeled zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Rehydrate porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of very hot vegetable broth for at least 30 minutes (this will yield about 1 cup of mushrooms). Drain, reserving the liquid and chop the mushrooms for the ramen Provençal.
In a small metal bowl, whisk together the lemon curd, sherry, red onion, salt and broth.
Place 6 tablespoons of flour in large plastic bag. Salt and pepper the fillets on both sides then dredge each filet in 4 tablespoons melted butter. Place fillets one at a time in bag with flour, seal it, and shake it vigorously to coat evenly.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a 12-inch cast iron pan, heat 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil over medium-high heat; when sizzling starts, add 3 fillets and cook 30-45 seconds on each side to a golden color; remove cooked fillets; again add 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil and follow the same procedure with the remaining 3 fillets. Return the 3 fillets that were set aside to the pan. Baste the 6 fillets with all the glaze mixture to cover entirely. Bake in the pan 17-20 minutes (until “test” fillet flakes with little fork tug). Remove fish from pan.
Add as much stock as is left from the rehydrated porcini mushrooms to a 2-cup container; add more vegetable stock as is needed to total 2 cups.
In a 1-quart sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over low heat; when completely melted, add 2 tablespoons flour and mix rapidly to make a roux. When golden colored, remove from heat.
Add the 2 cups mushroom liquid/stock to the pan the fish was baked in to deglaze it over high heat using a spatula to scrape the bottom. Place the saucepan with the roux on low heat. Stirring rapidly the whole time, pour the stock with deglazed content into the quart pan. This should thicken enough to yield a light, thin gravy consistency. Pour the gravy through a meshed strainer back into the sauce pan and set aside.
For the ramen Provencal: Cook the ramen noodles in 4 cups of boiling water for 4 minutes stirring frequently. Drain well. Add a touch of olive oil and mix in to prevent noodles from sticking.
If needed, pat slices of zucchini dry with clean paper towels to remove excess moisture. In a wok, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and stir fry the zucchini slices until they start to turn a golden color with some browning of the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from wok, salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to the wok, heat to sizzle, add the peppers, stir fry 3 minutes. Add garlic, the noodles, salt and pepper to taste and stir fry 2 more minutes more. Remove from heat. Return the zucchini to the wok, add parsley, lemon curd and mix well.
To serve: For each guest, place the ramen Provencal on the plate and top with a lemon glazed halibut fillet. Pour enough hot gravy over the filet to also lightly cover the noodles. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Serves six.
Oscar Menoyo