Alaskan Dayboat Halibut

In the summer months when fresh day-boat Alaskan halibut becomes available, my taste buds begin to salivate. Halibut is most likely one of my favorite seafood of all time. As a young child fresh halibut reminds me of how  my grandmother loved to treat her Grandchildren to dinner. I think taking us to dinner was more of a treat for her than for us. Being from a large family we did not have many opportunities for our parents to take us to a restaurant for dinner. We  did enjoy many wonderful meals from my mothers kitchen but my parents could not afford to take all nine children to dinner. When my Grandparents retired and moved next door into their summer house, my Grandmother decided that once a month she would take one of us out to a restaurant of their choice. She made up a list of all of our names and the months of the year in order to track when and who  she was taking  to dinner. Being very interested in food I could not wait for my turn, every nine months.

As my older brothers and sisters moved onto college or started dating  they would skip their turn and my turn would come around more often. How lucky was I! When it was my turn my Grandmother would ask me what restaurant I would like to go to this time. My answer was the same every time, Yule’s Seafood House in Easton, Pennsylvania. The restaurant was about 20-25 minutes away and I would sit next to my grandmother as she drove, waiting and waiting to arrive at my favorite restaurant. As we entered the restaurant I could smell the aroma of  the fresh seafood being cooked. The restaurant was small with several small rooms and low ceilings. We were seated at a very small table with  just enough room for the two of us. On this cold winter night we started  with a cup of steaming hot minestrone and New England seafood chowder. I could tell the food was cooked to order and real butter served with the warm crispy bread. We ordered two house salads with thousand island dressing for her and always blue cheese for me. I would finish my salad first and wait for the sound  of the sizzling hot  platter of perfectly broiled halibut with lots of butter and lemon to arrive at our table. I was in heaven and this was the  dish I ordered on every visit to Yule’s. Freshness is the key here and when halibut is in season I always order halibut from Foods in Seasons because of the freshness. The day boat halibut is brought to their facility by the fishermen the same day they are caught and then shipped overnight directly to the restaurant. On this occasion I also ordered some different variates of wild mushrooms including fresh Porcini, Golden Chantrell and Morel, all from the northern west coast.

Thyme Crusted Alaskan Halibut

Wild Mushroom, Heirloom Cherry Tomato and

 Artichoke Saute

For the Halibut

4- 8 ounce fillets of Alaskan Halibut

3 Tablespoons fresh chopped thyme

2 lemons cut in half

Squeeze the lemons over the halibut and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the top side of the halibut onto the thyme. Heat a non stick skillet over medium high. Add the halibut, thyme side down. Sear until golden brown , turn over and place in a 350 degree oven until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

For the Saute

4 artichoke hearts, remove the leaves and the choke, cook in salted water until done and then  cut into quarters.

2 pints of Wild mushrooms stems removed

1 pint of heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup Verjus or white wine

4 Tablespoons of a high quality unsalted butter

Heat the same pan that was used for the Halibut and add the mushrooms and cook over high heat until they loose their water, about 4-7 minutes. Add the artichokes hearts and heat through. Add the tomatoes and toss together with  a sprinkle of salt, freshly ground pepper. Deglaze the pan with the Verjus and reduce to 1/3. Remove the pan from the fire and swirl in the butter.

Place the saute in the middle of the plate, pour the pan juices over the mixture and top with the halibut.