Wild Alaskan Halibut, Sous Vide Fennel and Olives

Chef Tony Esnault
Knife Pleat, Costa Mesa

Chef Tony Esnault at a Black Jacket Society event.

Chef Esnault designed this recipe to demonstrate how advance preparation makes serving a special dinner easier. It also reflects his commitment to sustainability as it uses all the parts of the fennel bulb, showcasing its beautiful flavor.

Overview

Gaggenau Appliances: Vacuuming drawer, convection oven, combi-steam oven, induction or gas cooktop, (optional: Teppan Yaki)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 fennel bulbs with stalk attached

4 cloves, garlic

4 whole star anise

2 sprigs fresh thyme

4 oz (120g) extra virgin olive oil

1 oz (28g) grass-fed butter

1 lemon

1 tsp cornstarch

4 6 oz (170g) portions, wild Alaskan halibut

24 assorted pitted olives

For the fennel:

The fennel in this recipe requires some advance preparation and is started 2 weeks in advance of preparing the recipe.

The stalk of one fennel bulb is dehydrated in advance of preparing the recipe. That fennel bulb is thinly sliced combined with salt, vacuum sealed and set aside to ferment for two weeks. The remaining fennel bulbs are peeled, and cooked sous-vide, then browned prior to serving. The trim from the bulbs is reserved for making the sauce.

For the fennel stick:

Wash the fennel and remove the stalk, discarding the fronds. Heat the convection oven in Convection mode to 140° F. Place the fennel stalk on a small rimmed baking sheet and dehydrate for 12 hours. Store the dried fennel stalk in a jar until needed.

For the fennel kraut:

Shave one cleaned fennel bulb into very thin slices with a sharp mandoline. Place in a mixing bowl and gently stir in ½ tsp of salt. Place the mixture in a vacuum bag and seal in the vacuum sealer, vacuum level 3 and heat seal level 3. Set aside in a cool dark place to ferment for 2 weeks.

For the sous-vide fennel:

Allow 45 minutes to cook the sous-vide fennel and 5 - 6 minutes to brown before serving.

Wash 2 fennel bulbs, remove the thicker outer leaves, reserving them for the sauce. Cut the bulbs into thick slices, season with salt and place them in a sous-vide bag with 2 star anise, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 ounces of olive oil and the dried fennel stick. Seal the bag in the vacuum sealer, vacuum level 3, heat seal level 3.

Heat the combi-steam oven in the Sous-Vide mode to 200° F. Place the vacuum sealed bag in the perforated pan and cook for 45 minutes. When the cooking is complete, open the bag, reserve the juices and place the fennel on a paper towel to dry. When ready to serve, the fennel slices can be sautéed in a skillet on the cooktop or on the Teppan Yaki until golden.

For the sauce:

Allow approximately 45 minutes to prepare the sauce.

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tbsp of butter and stir in the reserved fennel trim, coarsely chopped, 2 cloves garlic and 2 star anise. Cook slowly on low heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, taking care not to let the sauce color. Induction and gas, level 4 - 5.

Add 2 cups of water, cover and cook for another 20 minutes, then strain through a fine strainer, pressing the liquid from the solids. Reduce the strained liquid at a gentle boil and add salt to taste. Level 7, induction and gas. In a small cup, mix 2 tsp of water with the cornstarch and slowly add to the gently boiling sauce to adjust the thickness. To finish the sauce, add a touch of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

A close-up of the dish.

For the halibut:

Allow approximately 15 minutes to cook the halibut.

Heat the combi-steam oven in the Low Temperature Cooking mode to 145° F or the convection oven in the Convection mode to 145° F.

Season the fish with salt and heat a saute pan large enough to sear 2 portions at one time, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the fish on both sides until golden. Transfer the fish to a rimmed baking tray and cook for 10 minutes. The fish should remain raw in the center.

Induction, use the Pan Heat option then reduce the temperature to level 8.5. Gas cooktop, use level 8. Teppan Yaki, heat the entire surface to 400 degrees and sear the fish in the center.

This sous-vide fennel can be cooked until golden once the fish goes into the oven using the same temperature settings for Induction, Gas or Teppan Yaki.

A top-down view of the dish.

To serve:

For service, spoon some sauce onto the dinner plate, add a rosette of the pickled fennel, add the fish and browned sous-vide fennel and a scattering of the olives.

Dinnerware by Hering Berlin
Photography by Adahlia Cole and Colin Peck

View the printable pdf recipe

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