Recipe: Gentle Baked Halibut & Vegetables with Garlic Dressing

WATCH: Wedgewood Hotel executive chef Montgomery Lau shows us how to make Gentle Baked Halibut & Vegetables.

Halibut Fillet (clean and portioned, skin off)

1-litre cold water
60 g sugar
50 g kosher salt

1 zest of lemon (using a vegetable peeler)
1 sprig Italian parsley
2 sprig tarragon
1 sprig basil

Method:

• Place 500ml of water in a pot, bring to a simmer.
• Add sugar and salt into simmering water to dissolve.
• Add remaining 500 ml water to cool down the hot liquid.
• Transfer brine to the fridge to chill.
• Add aromatic when brine is cold and steep overnight.
• The following day after, using a fine strainer, strain the brine to remove aromatics.
• Place cleaned and portion fish into brine and let it marinate for 5 hours.
• After 5 hours, remove fish from brine and rinse with cold water.
• You fish is now ready to be cooked to your liking.

For Charred Zucchini and Garlic Dressing

20 g peeled garlic
25 g olive oil
30 g vegetable oil
325 g large zucchini (zucchini and cut into long bars ¾ inch thick)
2 g salt
55 g buttermilk
55 g milk
10 g smooth dijon mustard
15 g extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Place garlic and oil in a small saucepot, place over medium heat and cook it until tender and light golden brown. Set aside and let it cool.
• Place a large frying pan, add vegetable oil and pan fry until almost blacken and smells of a charred aroma and the zucchini should be soft to touch.
• After cooking the zucchini, remove from pan and spread out on a tray to cool down.
• In a blender, combine buttermilk, milk, mustard and salt. Add cooked garlic and its oil, and the charred zucchini.
• Turn on blender to high speed and blend until smooth, turn blender to medium speed and slowly drizzle in olive oil while the blender is in operation. Once olive oil mixed in, turn off the blender
• The dressing is now ready to serve.

For Dehydrated Tomatoes

2 pieces ripe tomatoes for your choice
25 g extra virgin olive oil
tt kosher salt
tt black pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200* f
• Cut tomato into the desired size, season with olive oil, salt, and pepper
• Place in oven to dry takes about 3-4 hours
• Tomatoes are ready when they are slightly wrinkly and shrink to 75% of its original size

For Summer Squash Zucchini

• Using a mandolin, slice squash into 1/16 inch thick round slices.
• With a knife, cut another shape of summer squash, into 3 cm cubes.
• Set aside both knife cuts of squash and reserve until it is to be served.

To Serve

• Preheat oven to 250*f
• Place halibut onto a cooking tray and cover with 4 tbsp water and 4 tbsp of olive oil.
• Place tray in the oven and cook for 5 mins. Remove tray from oven and spoon liquid over fish to coat it with the cooking liquid. Rotate the tray 180* and place back in the oven. Repeat this process 4 times.  Total cooking tine is approx 20 mins.
• Using a small bamboo skewer, poke the middle of the fish to test for doneness. If there is no resistance as the skewer enters the center of the flesh, then the fish is cooked through.
• Place a pan on the stove and bring to high heat, add olive oil. When the oil is starting to smoke, place dice squash into the pan and sautéed until dark brown and caramelized.
• Add dehydrated tomato in a hot pan and pull off the heat to let the tomatoes warm through.
• In a separate frying pan, place 1 tbsp of butter 2 tbsp of water, a pinch of salt, and the thin round slices of summer squash. Bring it up to a simmer, then  pull off the heat.
• Place the zucchini dressing on the bottom of the plate, place the sautéed squash & tomato mix in the middle.
• Place cooked halibut over top of the charred squash.
• Gently lay a thin slice of squash over the halibut, overlapping slightly until the surface of the fish is covered.
• Enjoy