Halibut & Clams with Black Pepper and Vanilla Butter
Makes 4 Servings
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WINE PAIRING | |
|---|---|---|
| California Chardonnay | ||
This dish is smooth, floral, buttery & luxuriously tender. Vanilla accentuates the natural sweetness of the butter and seafood, but the dish’s richness is cut with intermittent bites of pepper heat.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter
- Seeds & Pod of ½ a Tahitian Vanilla Bean (how to use vanilla beans)
- 1 tbsp High Heat Oil
- Four 4oz Portions of Halibut Fillet
- 1lb Small Live Clams (Manila or Littleneck)
- 1 bunch Asparagus Tips
- ¼ cup White Wine
- 1 tsp coarsely ground Black Peppercorns
- Juice of ½ Lemon
DIRECTIONS
1
Melt the butter in a small saucepan with the vanilla pod and vanilla seeds over medium-low heat.
2
Continue to cook gently for 3 minutes, then strain out the vanilla pod.
3
Get the high heat oil very hot in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet over high heat.
4
Season the halibut with salt & sear it on one side until browned. Remove it from the pan.
5
Pour the strained butter into a separate large pan over low heat. Cook until the butter develops brown specks and smells nutty.
6
Pour the clams into the butter (be careful, this may cause the butter to spit) followed by the white wine, black pepper, and asparagus tips.
7
Cover the pan and cook until the clams open.
8
Remove the lid from the pan & add the halibut pieces, seared-side-up. Cook them in the simmering clam juices & wine, spooning the liquid over them. They shouldn’t need to cook more than a minute.
9
Stir in the lemon juice.
10
Serve portions of halibut, clams, and asparagus with some of the juices spooned over the top.