Just for the Halibut...

You may have heard wind, 'round the streets and through your kitchens that Amuse Bouche has started giving weekly cooking classes.


I know. Big deal.  I is one.


I am more excited than you on this one, trust me.  You couldn't possibly know how happy it makes me to be able to do stand up comedy and cook at the same time for 2 hours a week.  My heart is full.  So is my belly. For some reason, when I crack jokes to the lifeless halibut steak laying on my cutting board, it doesn't laugh back. 


So having people around to laugh when I say "Just for the Halibut..." - that's a bonus.


In fact, this is just one of a few seriously exciting developments in the land of la bouche.  And unfortunately, you would have a brain 'splosion if I gave them to you all at once, so we will celebrate these victories, one piece of good news at a time. Nobody wants your brain a 'sploadin'.

So here's to people learning the fine art of cooking, may it bring you just an ounce of the peace that it has brought me.  May it NOT, bring you that extra 20 el bee's I seem to have found since I started blogging.  

Whoops? 

BAKED HALIBUT WITH CUMIN AND AVOCADO

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallot

1/2 cup bottled clam juice

2 firm, ripe avocados (9 ounces each)—halved, pitted and sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup cilantro leaves plus sprigs, for garnish

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Four 6-ounce halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick

2 medium tomatoes—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 2 minutes. 

Add the clam juice and simmer for 3 minutes; transfer to a blender. Add an avocado half, the lemon juice and cilantro leaves and blend until smooth. 

Scrape the sauce into a small saucepan and season with salt and pepper.  

Season the halibut with salt and pepper and sprinkle the cumin on both sides.  

Spoon some of the tomatoes on top of each fillet. 

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish easily flakes away from a fork.

Gently reheat the avocado sauce, but do not boil. 

Transfer the fish to plates and pour the sauce alongside. Garnish with the remaining avocado slices and cilantro sprigs and serve at once. 

Love,

Whit