Poached Halibut with Pistachio Soup
Yield
Ingredients
Warm Pistachio Soup:
2 tbsp olive oil
2⁄3 cup onion, chopped
2 springs fresh thyme, chopped
1 each garlic clove
½ cup pistachios, whole
4 ¼ cup chicken broth
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Garnish:
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
½ cup butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 ⅓ cups fennel, sliced
¾ cup celery root, diced
2 
cups carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 cups 1 tbsp white wine
1 cup chicken stock
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Pistachio Pesto topping:
15 basil leaves
1 garlic clove, whole
2 tbsp potato, cooked
⅓ cup pistachios, whole
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Assembly:
1 lb. halibut filet, cut into cubes
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Instructions
Warm Pistachio Soup
In a large saucepan on medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, thyme, garlic, and pistachio kernels. Sauté for about five minutes, or until golden brown. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for about twenty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When finished, pour saucepan contents into a blender and mix on high. Strain through a small sieve and set aside.
Garnish:
In a large sauté pan, on medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, butternut squash, fennel, celery root, and carrots. Sauté for about five minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Add white wine and bring to a boil until all the liquid is gone. When the liquid has evaporated, add the chicken broth and continue to boil until all the liquid is gone and the vegetables are cooked through. Set aside.
Pistachio Pesto topping:
Combine basil, garlic, potato, pistachio kernels, and salt in a mortar and mash it together. When it starts to break down a bit, gradually add the olive oil and continue to mash it all together.
After it has been mixed well, add the lemon juice and mix together. Set aside.
Assembly:
Add salt and pepper to the halibut cubes and sauté in a medium sized sauté pan on medium high for about two minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Place a towel on a plate, and when fish is golden brown, pour the cooked fish on top of the towel (to remove excess oil).
In a separate shallow bowl, pour in some of the hot pistachio soup with a ladle, add vegetables on top, and place about five or six cubes of halibut on top of the vegetables.
Sprinkle the pistachio pesto topping over the soup and finish with some extra virgin olive oil over the dish.
Suggested Wine Pairing: Grenache blanc
Equipment, smallware and tools: Large saucepan, medium and large sauté pan, blender, small sieve, plate, shallow bowl, ladle, spatula, mortar & pestle, 10-inch (25 cm) dinner plate or large platter.
Ingredients
Warm Pistachio Soup:
30 ml olive oil
75 g onion, chopped
2 springs fresh thyme, chopped
1 each garlic clove
80 g pistachios, whole
1000 ml chicken broth
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Garnish:
60 ml olive oil
120 g onion, diced
120 g butternut squash, peeled and diced
120 g fennel, sliced
120 g celery root, diced
120 g carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
500 ml white wine
250 ml chicken stock
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Pistachio Pesto topping:
15 basil leaves
1 garlic clove, whole
20 g potato, cooked
50 g pistachios, whole
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Assembly:
500 g halibut filet, cut into cubes
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Instructions
Warm Pistachio Soup
In a large saucepan on medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, thyme, garlic, and pistachio kernels. Sauté for about five minutes, or until golden brown. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for about twenty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When finished, pour saucepan contents into a blender and mix on high. Strain through a small sieve and set aside.
Garnish:
In a large sauté pan, on medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, butternut squash, fennel, celery root, and carrots. Sauté for about five minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Add white wine and bring to a boil until all the liquid is gone. When the liquid has evaporated, add the chicken broth and continue to boil until all the liquid is gone and the vegetables are cooked through. Set aside.
Pistachio Pesto topping:
Combine basil, garlic, potato, pistachio kernels, and salt in a mortar and mash it together. When it starts to break down a bit, gradually add the olive oil and continue to mash it all together.
After it has been mixed well, add the lemon juice and mix together. Set aside.
Assembly:
Add salt and pepper to the halibut cubes and sauté in a medium sized sauté pan on medium high for about two minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Place a towel on a plate, and when fish is golden brown, pour the cooked fish on top of the towel (to remove excess oil).
In a separate shallow bowl, pour in some of the hot pistachio soup with a ladle, add vegetables on top, and place about five or six cubes of halibut on top of the vegetables.
Sprinkle the pistachio pesto topping over the soup and finish with some extra virgin olive oil over the dish.
Suggested Wine Pairing: Grenache blanc
Equipment, smallware and tools: Large saucepan, medium and large sauté pan, blender, small sieve, plate, shallow bowl, ladle, spatula, mortar & pestle, 10-inch (25 cm) dinner plate or large platter.
Gerald Hirigoyen
Chef / Owner, Piperade and Bocadillos, Williams-Sonoma Catering, San Francisco, California
Co-owner, Clos Pissara Winery, Catalonia, Spain
Member, Maitre Cuisinier de France
Recipient of Chevalier du Merite Agricole
