Halibut with Grapes and Red Wine-Port Sauce
(featured in The Oregonian, July 6, 2003)
Eric Ripert’s Halibut with Grapes and Red Wine-Port Sauce is one of the richly complex and relative easy recipes in his book, “A Return to Cooking,” (Artisan, 2002, $50). It also was one of the dishes featured on The Heathman Hotel’s dinner menu the night Ripert was in town. The fish is delicate yet crisp on one side. The sweet grapes are peeled (you can do it!) and gentle in their texture, but as Ripert writes, “The real pleasure in this dish, though, is the sauce, a classical red wine reduction, and in its deep red color and mirrorlike shine.”
When you make the sauce, be sure to follow his instructions. Don’t whisk in the butter but shake it in the pan as if you were a restaurant chef sautéing vegetables. Flip it, add more butter, and Ripert writes, “as it thickens, it starts to make a ‘plop’ sound.” There, you have it, and even though it takes practice, this delicious dish and its sauce are worth making time and time again. Eric Ripert’s restaurant Le Bernadin is located at 155 West 51st Street, New York, New York; 212-554-1515;www.le-bernardin.com.
Serves 6
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
1 1/4 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 carrot, peeled
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh fennel seeds (you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon dry fennel seeds)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1 cup port
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
30 seedless red grapes, peeled and halved
Six 5-ounce thick halibut fillets
2 tablespoons canola oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Special equipment: Kitchen twine
For the sauce, place the red wine, vinegar, garlic, carrot, onion, fennel seeds, and peppercorns in a medium pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the port in a separate pot and reduce by half, about 15 minutes.
Strain the red wine reduction and combine the two reductions in a medium saucepan. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small pot. Add the grapes and warm over low heat. Set aside in a warm place.
For the halibut, wrap a 7-inch piece of kitchen twine around each fillet, pulling it tightly so the fillet forms a circle, and knot to keep the shape. Place 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in each of two large nonstick sauté pans and heat over high heat. Season the halibut generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Add 3 of the halibut fillets to each pan and sear for 4 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side. Turn each fillet over and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted into the center of each fillet comes out warm.
Meanwhile, bring the sauce to a boil over high heat. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and off the heat, shake the pan in a back-and-forth motion, as though you were popping corn, until the butter melts. Do not stir or whisk to incorporate the butter. The sauce will still be a bit cloudy at this point: continue to shake the pan until the sauce is shiny.
Rewarm the grapes over low heat. Add the tarragon and lemon juice.
To serve, remove the string from the halibut and place the fish in the centers of six dinner plates. Place 10 grape halves on top of each fillet, spoon the sauce around, and serve immediately.
from Eric Ripert, “A Return to Cooking,” (Artisan, 2002, $50)