Lent Day 6

I was up early and wide awake, and in his benevolence, Turner Classic provided me with Barry Lyndon, - a story of the rise and fall of a common opportunist. The soundtrack to this picture is second to none (well, maybe second to Reservoir Dogs) and Stanley Kubrick brings war, deceit, and chivalry in 18th century Europe to life so well.
When this ended, I was still not able to sleep, so I tuned in to Lydia, my favorite public tv Italian chef. She was doing a baked fish dish ('For the Halibut', and why not?!?) with onions and mushrooms. I watched, and drooled, and finally fell asleep. I have reprinted her recipe here, and plan to try it this Friday.


Ingredients
4 medium porcini or portobello mushrooms
7 tablespoons -extra--virgin olive oil
3 medium onions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 skinless halibut fillets, about 2¼ pounds total
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the mushrooms on the bias in 1-½--inch--thick slices. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and shave off the gills if using portobellos. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Spread the onions and garlic on an oiled half sheet pan. In the same skillet, over -medium--high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and add the mushroom slices (or do in batches if the skillet is too crowded). Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of water. Cook and flip the mushrooms until they are softened and browned, about 4 minutes (per batch, if you’re doing it in batches). Spread half of the mushrooms on top of the wilted onions, and season all with ½ teaspoon of salt.

Season the halibut with half of the lemon juice, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pour the remaining lemon juice and the white wine over the vegetables, and sprinkle with the parsley. Set the halibut on top, and top each fillet with remaining mushroom slices. Bake the fish on the bottom rack of the oven until it is cooked through and the juices are reduced and saucy, about 18 to 20 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Bastianich