Halibut a la Barigoule

Each year, we host Mother's Day dinner at our house. Last year, 7 months pregnant, I decided on a Greek menu because it's nice and easy. This year, with a 10-month-old, I picked another easy menu: steaks, grilled veggies, a couple appetizers... nothing fancy. Mom was bringing a tray of her famous manicotti. Perfect - and simple enough to let me enjoy the day with my tiny one. But instead of hosting a party, I was a mom.

A few days before Mother's Day, little one's school informed us that Coxsackie Virus was making its way around the baby room... I arrived for the Mother's Day tea to find a baby with a fever. She awoke the next day with a few of the tell-tale spots that accompany the virus so I quickly rang Grandma to cancel the festivities. Even though she was sick with little spots all over her precious face and hands, she was still the best part of Mother's Day. We had a picnic in the park and played all day. It might not have been what we'd planned, but it was perfect all the same.

Aside from spending time with her, I wanted a nice meal. Halibut happens to be my all-time favorite fish and this particular recipe is fantastic. Lots of basil, artichokes, beans with a hint of bacon. So this was my Mother's Day dinner. It's great for a special occasion - it would also be goosd for a dinner party: you can make the barigoule ahead of time and just stir in the basil at the end and cook the fish. Don't forget to soak the beans a day ahead!



Halibut a la Barigoule
adapted from the Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
½ pint pearl onions, peeled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
12 baby artichokes, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 cup white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup white beans (recipe follows)
6 halibut fillets
¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Prepare the Basil Purée:
Prepare an ice-water bath in a medium bowl and bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the basil and blanch for 1 minute. Strain, plunge the leaves into the ice bath, and reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water. Remove the leaves from the ice water and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Place in the work bowl of a food processor along with the reserved ¼ cup of liquid and process until smooth, green, and bright. Refrigerate until needed.

Cook the Artichokes:
Wrap the coriander seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaf in cheesecloth to make a sachet. Set aside. Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium flame. Add the onions and garlic along with 1 teaspoon of salt and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and herb sachet and cook for 5 minutes.

When the carrots have softened, add the sliced artichokes and the wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the cooked white beans, if using, and keep warm over a low flame while the halibut is cooked.
Cook the Fish:
Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Dry the halibut fillets and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and the ¼ teaspoon white pepper.
Use 2 large sauté pans to cook the fish or, if using 1 pan, cook the fish in 2 batches. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the sauté pan until the oil smokes. Place 3 of the fillets in the pan and cook for 2 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven to finish cooking for 5 minutes, or until the fish just begins to flake around the edges.
Just before serving, remove the spice sachet from the broth, add the basil puree, and add the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Stir well to combine, and spoon the warm barigoule sauce into 6 shallow bowls, with a halibut fillet in the center.

Serves 6. To adapt it for two, I made the beans as shown, but reserved some for another use. I halved everything else and used just 2 halibut filets.

White Beans
adapted from the Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally

1/2 pound dried white beans
1 leek
2 cups chicken stock
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thirds
1 celery stalk, cut into thirds
1 medium onion, halved
half a head of garlic, cut through the equator
1 Tbsp. coarse salt (less if your stock is salty)
3 thick slices smoked bacon, cut into lardons
Bouquet garni made with 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. black peppercorns, 6 sprigs parsley and 3 springs thyme

Put the beans in a large bowl, cover with cold water and soak overnight.

The next day, drain the beans in a colander and rince with cold water. Transfer to a pot and cover with water. bring to a boil over high heat. When the foam subsides, drain and rinse the beans again.

Return the beans to the pot with the remaining ingredients. (Careful with the salt - your stock and bacon will also add saltiness). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the beans are cooked. Taste them often to be sure you get the right consistency.

Moroccan chickpea and carrot tagine

I'm on a mission to make more fish at home. My mission is frequently thwarted for pretty mundane reasons. One: I do my grocery shopping on Saturdays, so unless we have fish Saturday, I have to go back to the store for fresh fish later in the week. Two: I struggle to make the meal exciting. We love simply prepared fish. Drizzled with a little olive oil and lemon is the best way to enjoy most fish. But that can make for a lackluster meal unless the side dishes stand out. That's what led me to this dish... sort of.

I set out to buy monkfish to make a fish tagine, but the store didn't have any... hmmm. My fish guy told me dover sole was the freshest thing he had - came in just hours earlier. I chose that, figuring I'd just broil it with a little onion, lemon pepper and olive oil. But now I needed a good side dish. The tagine cookbook was already out, so I turned to the vegetarian section and found this recipe for chick pea and carrot tagine. It's quick and easy, plus it's hardy enough to go with fish and packs in plenty of flavor.

Spicy carrot and chickpea tagine with turmeric and cilantro
adapted from Tagine by Ghillie Basan

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tbsp. honey
3 medium carrots, cut into thick slices on a diagonal
1 14.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
sea salt
a small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat the oil in a tagine or heavy bottomed casserole dish, add the onion and garlic, and saute until soft. Add the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, honey and carrots. Pour in enough water to cover the base of the tagine and cover with a lid. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes.

Toss in the chickpeas and check to make sure there's still enough water in the bottom of the tagine, cover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and sprinkle the cilantro over the top. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Sassy, spicy, smoky baked beans

The inspiration to make ribs with all the fixin's hit me on a beautiful sunny day. I could almost taste the smoky ribs, baked beans and cole slaw as we sat on the deck watching the sun set. Of course, the day I decided to make this meal turned out gray, rainy, and 50 degrees. Oh well, it tasted good in the kitchen, too.

I love smoky food. Smoked paprika is my favorite spice; one of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my Cameron's stovetop smoker. I like to heat things up with smoky chipotles in adobo... the list goes on. When I make ribs, it's an all day process (most of it hands-off)- they're rubbed, smoked, basted, slow-cooked, basted again, and finally grilled. Perfect with cole slaw or potato salad, we have them several times each summer.This time, I went with cole slaw - it's easier than potato salad. So, for a starch, I decided to make a batch of smoky baked beans. This recipe is based on one I found in Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible. It calls for canned beans, which makes them really quick and easy.

Give them a try at your next BBQ - they go great with my smoked ribs.



Sassy, spicy, smoky baked beans
adapted from the Barbecue! Bible

3 slices thick-cut bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cans kidney, cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 350F.

In a frying pan, cook the bacon. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 1 Tbsp. of the drippings from the pan. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in the pan until softened, about 5 minutes.

When the bacon is cool, coarsely chop it.

In a round baking dish, whisk together the brown sugar, molasses, barbecue sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, dry mustard, prepared mustard, vinegar, paprika and cayenne. Stir in the bacon and the onion mixture. Stir in the beans. Add salt and papper to taste.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir then continue baking for about 30 minutes more, uncovered.