James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [43]
5. Place a halibut steak on an oiled baking dish. Top with a layer of paper-thin onion slices, a layer of peeled tomatoes sliced very thin, a layer of thinly sliced green pepper, a layer of chopped parsley, and another layer of sliced onions. Dot each layer with a little butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Top the whole with the second steak and brush well with butter or oil. Add 1 cup of red wine to the pan and bake as above. Remove the halibut to a hot platter. Add an additional 2/3 cup of wine to the pan juices and bring it to a boil. Add to this 1/4 cup each of finely chopped parsley and green onion or scallion. Season to taste and, if you wish, thicken the sauce with small balls of beurre manié.
6. Stuff the halibut with a layer of thick tomato paste, a layer of finely chopped garlic, a layer of anchovy fillets, a layer of ripe olives, a layer of pimientos, and another layer of the tomato puree. Add some fennel or basil, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Place in an oiled baking dish and add 1 cup of tomato paste mixed with 1 cup of red wine. Bake as above. Serve with the juices in the pan and sprinkle lavishly with chopped parsley and sliced black olives.
7. Chop very fine 1/2 cup fresh dill sprigs, 1 cup parsley sprigs, and 6 to 8 green onions or scallions. Blend with 1/4 cup butter and spread on a halibut steak. Season to taste and top with another steak. Brush with butter and bake as above. Serve with boiled potatoes and a tartar sauce (pages 35–36) heavily flavored with dill.
FRIED HALIBUT
Buy halibut steaks cut about 3/4 inch thick. Cut them into fingers about the same width, roll them in flour, dip in beaten egg and crumbs, and deep fry according to the directions on page 11. Serve with a rémoulade sauce (page 35).
POACHED HALIBUT
Halibut is firmly meated but has a certain delicacy that lends itself well to poaching. Have a piece about 11/2 to 2 inches thick cut for you, and poach it in a well-seasoned court bouillon (page 18). See note on poaching on page 12. Serve it in any of the following ways:
VARIATIONS
1. Serve with Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26). Pass boiled potatoes with parsley.
2. Serve with aïoli (pages 33–34). Serve with parsley potatoes, string beans, and tomatoes Provençale.
3. Prepare a sauce velouté (page 21) with the court bouillon and a little cream added. Spike it with lemon or lime juice.
4. Add 1/2 pound shelled shrimp to the court bouillon for the last five minutes of cooking. Remove the shrimp and halibut. Reduce the bouillon and make a sauce béchamel (page 23). Add the shrimp to the sauce and season it well with chopped fresh dill and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Prepare a sauce béchamel, using oyster liquor and some of the court bouillon. Add 1/2 pint or more of small or chopped oysters to the sauce and let them just heat through.
6. Poach the halibut in salted water instead of the bouillon. Prepare a sauce béchamel using clam juice, and add 1 7-ounce can of minced clams and some chopped parsley to the sauce.
7. Poach the halibut in salted water. Prepare a curry sauce (page 29) and serve with a ring of saffron rice; garnish with chutney, bits of crisp bacon, and chopped hard-cooked eggs.
8. Poach the halibut in salted water. Serve with a highly seasoned tomato sauce, baked rice, and a cucumber salad.
HALIBUT MOUSSE
1 pound halibut
3 eggs whites
1 cup heavy cream
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg
Cayenne pepper (if desired)
Finely chopped fresh dill (if desired)
Chop the halibut or put it through a fine grinder. The preferred method is to grind it and then pound it in a mortar or work it with a heavy wooden spoon. Place the bowl with the fish over cracked ice and gradually beat in the egg whites, using a whisk or wooden spoon to smooth the fish and make it absorb all the liquid. Then gradually stir in the cream, making sure