Red Wine Braised Halibut on a Bed of Leeks

Seafood

Ingredients

Yields: 2 servings
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 6 shallots, finely chopped, divided
  • 1 cup Port wine
  • 2 cups Pinot noir
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 2 pieces bacon, cut into ½” pieces
  • 1 leek, whites only, cut into 1” pieces and rinsed well
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 7 dried morel mushrooms, rehydrated and cut in half
  • 1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 halibut fillets, boneless, skinless
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chives, cut into 1” pieces

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Cut head of garlic in half crosswise, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool until ready to use.
  3. In a 12” skillet over high heat, add 4 shallots, Port wine, Pinot noir, black pepper and thyme.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to ¼ cup.
  4. Add the chicken stock to the sauce and reduce to ½ cup.
  5. While the sauce is reducing, cook the bacon until crispy in a separate pan.  Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve the bacon fat.
  6. Add the leeks to the bacon fat over medium high heat.  Cover, and let cook 8-10 minutes, or until leeks are completely tender.
  7. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat.  Add remaining 2 shallots, mushrooms, and rutabaga.  Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Add sugar and water, cover, and let cook 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
  8. When sauce has finished reducing, whisk in butter until melted.
  9. Scoop out the cloves from the roasted head of garlic and add to the sauce.  Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.
  10. Season halibut fillets with salt and pepper.  Dredge lightly in flour and pat to remove excess.
  11. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet, and sear halibut fillets 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
  12. At the last minute, sprinkle chives over mushroom and rutabaga vegetable ragout.
  13. To plate, make a bed of leeks and place the halibut fillets on top.  Spoon the sauce around the fish and sprinkle with bacon pieces.  Serve vegetable ragout on the side.