Slow Roasted Halibut With Asparagus And Salsa Genovese Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish fillets in the baking dish and turn to coat them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the wine around the fish. Bake until the fish just flakes, about 20 minutes.
• Wisk a tablespoon or 2 of the juices from the baking dish into the salsa and oil mixture to thin and flavor it, then spoon the sauce over the fish. Service at once.
• Salsa Genovese;.
• Add all the remainingingredients (starting at "recipe follows") except for the olive oil and pluse until nearly pureed. With the machine running, add 6 tablespoons olive oilthrough the feed tube, pureeing until the mixture is almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container with a thin film of olice oil on top to protect it from oxidizing. The flavors will stay lively for 2 to 3 days.
• Michael's Notes: Choose an olive that is not too heavily brined, such as picholines or Lucques from France.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish fillets in the baking dish and turn to coat them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the wine around the fish. Bake until the fish just flakes, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk a tablespoon or 2 of the juices from the baking dish into the salsa and oil mixture to thin and flavor it, then spoon the sauce over the fish. Serve at once.
• Add all the ingredients except for the olive oil and pulse until nearly pureed. With the machine running, add 6 tablespoons olive oil through the feed tube, pureeing until the mixture is almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container with a thin film of olive oil on top to protect it from oxidizing. The flavors will stay lively for 2 to 3 days.

Steps:

• For the besciamella sauce: Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk to avoid scorching. Meanwhile, dice the butter and begin to melt it over medium heat in a separate saucepan. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and nutmeg. When butter has fully melted and has stopped bubbling, whisk the flour mixture thoroughly into the melted butter. Allow this flour mixture to simmer, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. When the milk is steaming and looks like it is about to simmer, quickly add all of the flour roux to the hot milk while stirring vigorously with the whisk. (The whisking will allow the roux to fully incorporate into the milk and you will start to see it thickening.) Bring to a full rolling boil, whisking constantly, to thicken the milk and flour mixture. Transfer mixture to a bowl or casserole dish to fully cool down in your refrigerator.
• For the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
• In a bowl, combine the besciamella sauce with the pesto Genovese and salt. Begin assembling the lasagna by laying a sheet of raw fresh pasta down in the greased baking dish (cut and piece together the pasta if necessary to fit your vessel). Next, pour a half cup of the sauce mixture onto the pasta. Using a spatula or desired utensil, spread the sauce evenly, making sure to get it to the edges and in the corners of the dish. Sprinkle over the sauce layer a handful of asparagus, handful of mozzarella, light handful of pecorino, light handful of basil. (Keep in mind, there are 7 layers with these ingredients, so use sparingly on each layer; the pine nuts will be distributed on 2 layers of your choosing, as they are not needed on each layer.) For the 8th and final layer, begin by laying the rest of your pasta on top of the 7th layer, then spread the rest of your sauce on top of the pasta, and sprinkle the rest of your mozzarella on the sauce. Finish the assembly by evenly sprinkling the crouton crumbs on top of the mozzarella. Cover the dish well with foil to trap in moisture to allow the raw pasta to cook.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover the lasagna and bake until the lasagna has crisped and browned to your liking, another 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with warm alfredo sauce or as desired.

Steps:

• Place asparagus in a large saucepan; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water., In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, vinegar and salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, stirring several times. Serve with tortilla chips.

Steps:

• Using the food processor with the metal blade, mince the bacon and garlic cloves together into a fine pestata (paste). Since you have the machine out, use it to chop the carrot, celery, and onions if you want (you don't need to wash the bowl). Process each vegetable separately. Cut the carrot and the celery stalk into chunks before chopping; pulse each to small bits. Chunk up the onions into 1-inch pieces, put them into the food-processor bowl in batches, and pulse them to 1/4-inch bits, not too fine. Put the onions in a big bowl-you will have 4 to 5 quarts of chopped onion when you are done.
• (Of course, you may shred and chop the vegetables by hand, or even mince the bacon-garlic paste with a heavy cleaver, as I did growing up. It takes longer but is quite satisfying.)
• Rinse and dry the pork, then sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt lightly on all surfaces, patting it on. Pour the oil into the braising pan, and set it over medium heat. Before it gets hot, lay the pork in and brown it-lightly-turning it after a minute or so on each side.
• While the meat is browning, scrape the pestata into the pan bottom; spread it out and let the bacon begin to render. Drop in peperoncino now, if you want some heat in the salsa; toast it on the pan bottom.
• After 3 minutes or so of browning the pork, drop the tomato paste into the fat; stir and caramelize a minute. Dump the shredded carrot and celery into the pan bottom; stir for a minute, just to get them cooking. (Keep turning the meat so it browns evenly and slowly.)
• Now scrape the chopped onions into the pan, all around the meat. Sprinkle the remaining coarse salt over the onions; raise the heat a bit, stirring the onions up from the bottom and mixing them with the oil, pestata, and tomato paste. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are all hot and starting to sweat. Cover, and turn the heat to medium-low.
• The pork is now going to cook for about 3 hours. Leave it alone for the first 45 minutes, then uncover, turn the meat, and stir the onions. They should be wilting and releasing liquid; if there is any sign of burning, lower the heat. Cover, and cook for another 45 minutes, turn the meat, and stir the onions. They should be quite reduced in volume, in a thick, simmering sauce. Stir in 2 cups of hot broth, bringing the liquid higher around the pork.
• Cook, covered, for another 45 minutes, then stir. If the sauce level has dropped a lot and is beginning to stick, stir in another cup or two of broth. Taste, and add more salt if necessary.
• Cover, and cook another 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Check the consistency of the onions-they should be melting into the sauce, and the meat should be soft when pierced with a fork. If satisfactory, remove from the heat; otherwise, cook longer, adding more broth, or, if the sauce seems thin, uncover and cook to reduce it.
• As a primo, first course, for six: Remove 2 cups of the fresh onion sauce from the pot and put it in a large skillet. Cook 1 pound of rigatoni or other pasta, and toss it in the skillet with the simmering sauce. Finish with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano.
• As a secondo, main meat course, for six or more: Remove the pork from the braising pot and cut out the blade bone (just lift the cooked meat off it and remove the bone). Slice the pork against the grain in 1/3-inch-thick slices, and moisten with hot sauce from the pot.
• As a meaty sauce for pasta: Traditionally, the leftover meat and sauce from Sunday dinner were combined and served another day as a dressing for pasta, but you can dedicate any amount of Salsa Genovese to this marvelous mixture.
• If you want to make this with freshly braised meat and sauce, let cool briefly, then pull the meat apart with forks (or fingers) into shreds, about 1/2 inch wide or more, and toss with the sauce. Refrigerate or freeze for another day.
• To dress 1 pound of pasta with meaty sauce: Heat 2 cups of sauce in a large skillet; refresh and extend it with a bit of extravirgin olive oil and broth, and bring to a simmer. I like to serve this with rigatoni or ziti. Fresh garganelli or cavatappi would also be a fine pasta choice. Finish with more oil and freshly grated cheese.
• You'll notice that I put coarse salt, rather than granular salt, on large meat cuts and whole birds that roast or braise for a long time. At home, I use either coarse sel de mer-sea salt with crystals formed naturally in coastal flats-or kosher salt, which crystallizes in the manufacturing process. The crystal structure adheres to the meat better than ordinary salt; real sea-salt crystals, my favorite, have more flavor too. I also prefer coarse salt for finishing-that is, for sprinkling on hot foods after they come out of the pot or pan.
• I recommend that you have at least one of these coarse crystal salts in the kitchen. If a recipe calls for coarse salt but you have none, use ordinary granular salt but reduce the amount by a third or a half: since granular salt is smaller and more dense, a spoonful of it (or any measured amount) adds more saltiness than an equal measure of bigger, airier salt crystals.

Steps:

• Finely dice the mango. Cut down the broad side of the mango, slightly off center, from the stem end to the tip end. The knife should scrape against the side of the pit. Repeat on the other side, cutting as close to the pit as possible. Cut the flesh from the sides of the pit, following the curve of the pit. Lay each half on your cutting surface, and score with the tip of your knife in a cross-hatch pattern, down to the skin but not through it. Turn the mango half inside out, and slice the cubes away from the skin. Then cut the cubes into very small dice.
• Toss the mango in a bowl with the chiles, cilantro, mint, jicama and lime juice. Season with salt if desired. Cover the bowl, and allow to sit for an hour while you prepare your grill.
• Heat a medium-hot grill (or heat an indoor griddle or grill pan). Season the halibut fillets or steaks with salt and pepper, and toss with the olive oil in a bowl. Place the fish directly over the coals, and grill for four to five minutes per side, depending on the thickness. The fish should be opaque all the way through, and you should be able to pull it apart with a fork.
• Remove the fish to a plate or a platter. Serve with the salsa spooned partially over the fish and partially on the side. Alternately, spoon the salsa onto plates and set the fish on top. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Steps:

• Place the asparagus, carrots, radishes and red onions in a food processor and pulse a few times until the vegetables are finely diced but not pureed.
• Transfer to a large bowl and add the dill, scallions, serrano chile, lemon zest and juice. Mix together well, season to taste with salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop if time allows. The salsa can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.