By Chef Kellen Crumb
Pan Roasted Halibut, White Asparagus Puree, Shishito Gel, Buttered White Asparagus Tips, Minus 8 Veget8 Sous-Vide Parsley Root, Roasted Yellowfoot Mushrooms, Charred Leeks, Crispy Parsley Root Crisps, Yellowfoot Chips, Brown Butter Crumb
Feeds: 4 (easily)
Halibut – 4oz. Portion
The Halibut was barely treated at all, Simply seasoned with a little salt and pan seared in oil and finished with a tsp of butter.
White Asparagus Puree –
2 bunches White Asparagus (reserve tips for later)
500mL 35% cream
500mL chicken stock
Butter
Salt
Minus 8 – to taste
Peel white asparagus and transfer to pot with cream and stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer to slowly cook the asparagus as well as slightly thicken the cream. When the asparagus is cooked, transfer to a food processor with NO liquid. Add 1 tsp cold butter while blitzing the asparagus. Add liquid as needed to your puree (if you prefer a very thick puree, perhaps don’t add any liquid; on the same token, if you want to make a soup, this process wouldn’t change much). Adjust your seasoning and add a touch of Minus 8 Vinegar just to add a little brightness to the puree.
Shishito Gel –
2Lbs Shisito Peppers
200 mL oil, sunflower
Leek
Garlic
Salt
Pre-heat Pan on medium high heat. While it’s heating, rough chop your leeks and garlic. Toss your leeks in the pan and toss for 2 minutes without colouring them. Add the garlic and continue cooking. Add in the shishito peppers and saute attempting to keep no colour on the peppers. You can chose to take the seeds out but we chose to leave them in for a tiny little bite of heat that will work well with the creaminess of the white asparagus and the acidity of the parsley root. Once the peppers are cooked, transfer everything from the pan into a food processor. Blitz everything into a paste. Once smooth, Slowly pour in the oil while the food processor is still blitzing to help emulsify the Gel. Adjust the seasoning once the right consistency has been reached.
Sous-Vide Parsley Root –
1 bunch Parsley Root
1 tbsp Minus 8 Veget8 Vinegar
1 tsp Butter
Salt to taste
Clean and peel your parsley root. Cut down to a uniform one-bite size. Shape is up to you. Place in your sous-vide bag ensuring everything is flat in the bag and nothing is overlapping. Add in the vinegar, butter and salt. Place in an immersion circulator for 65 minutes at 87°C. Using this method allows you to simultaneously infuse the parsley root with the Veget8 flavour and acidity while ensuring the vegetable isn’t overcooked at all. One important thing to note, is IF YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO IMMEDIATELY EAT THE PARSLEY ROOT, IT NEEDS TO BE COOLED DOWN IN AN ICE BATH AND KEPT STORED IN THE BAG UNTIL USED.
Charred Leeks –
1 Leek
1 tbsp Oil, sunflower
Salt and Pepper
Clean and peel your leek until it runs clean under water. Slice your leeks into coins no thicker than an inch. Heat up a pan (we chose cast iron) with oil, season your leeks and place your leeks flat side down. The leeks will be cooking through completely on one side when you see the base of the leek starting to blacken, transfer to an oven at 350°F and cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan carefully to ensure the coins stay together and don’t fall apart.
Roasted YellowFoot Mushrooms –
½ lbs. Yellowfoot Mushrooms
½ Shallot
2 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Butter
1 tsp Oil
Salt & Pepper
Brush mushrooms to ensure there is no more dirt hiding within. Pre-heat a pan over medium heat with oil. Finely chop both shallots and garlic. Add shallots to pan and toss. Add Garlic followed by mushrooms. Saute for 2 minutes and add butter to the pan and continue tossing until cooked through. Adjust seasoning.
White Asparagus Tips –
Tips from earlier prep.
1 tsp Butter
1 Pinch Crushed coriander seed
Salt
Pre-heat a pan on medium heat and add butter to the pan. Toss Asparagus tips in butter until cooked through. Adjust seasoning and serve.
Brown Butter Crumb –
500mL Brown Butter
1 can Skim Milk Powder
One of the things that we always keep in the kitchen is butter in different forms. Regular, clarified, brown… It opens up different avenues of flavours from the very beginning. Brown butter has a very nutty flavor that helps develop earthiness in a dish. For this, melt your brown butter in a pot and keep it over low heat. Add in the skim milk powder and stir continuously until the colour of the powder matches that of the butter. It should take about 15 minutes. Strain out the powder reserving the butter for later use. Lay the brown butter crumb out on paper towels to dry. Some of it may be in clumps. That’s fine, break it up using a fork or your fingers
