I had a vision for this pairing. Lot 353 is a classic white wine that pairs wonderfully with fish. It also has some nice stone fruit undertones and I really wanted to play with that aspect in this recipe. I wanted to keep the fish preparation simple and focus on the sauce to bring out all those great flavors in the wine. My thoughts went towards a classic hollandaise with a twist. I wanted to bring in some fruit to the sauce yet keep the base of hollandaise without too much fuss.
The basic hollandaise method was used, egg yolks over a double boiler with lemon juice and seasoning. The addition of pureed honeydew melon was the major twist. There is a lot of water in Honeydew, so it took some time and extra egg yolk to get the consistency right. Another option would be to grill the melon first to lose some water content and concentrate that flavor. Regardless, this sauce was absolutely perfect for the flaky halibut. Paired with some glazed carrots and homemade potato chips, this dish was perfectly light and flavorful and a wonderful pairing with Lot 353.
Last tip. I took this off of Eric Ripert of NYC’s Le Bernadin, regarded as the best seafood restaurant in New York. Pat the fish dry and dredge in Wondra Flour. It makes an incredibly perfect, crispy crust on the fish without the bogged down weight of flour. Try it!
This Halibut with Hollandaise was put together with plenty of practice, and it has caught on with many of my patrons. I’m therefore sharing it with you my readers.
Hollandaise — Take puree of honeydew melon and add the 3 egg yolks, mix well. Add pinch of salt (1 tsp), cayenne pepper, and lemon juice and mix well w/ whisk. Over double boiler, or pot of boiling water, slowly whisk in melted butter being sure not to curdle the eggs. Once fully incorporated and beginning to thicken, remove from heat and set aside for serving. NOTE: this step should be done just as fish is finishing to cook.
Fish — Pat dry each fillet and lightly coat with Wondra flour and salt. Place into hot skillet w/ canola oil. Cook about 2 minutes per side, being careful when flipping. Fish should have nice golden brown crust. Remove from heat and let sit atop a paper towel letting the grease drain off.
Serve fish on top of generous portion of hollandaise, with glazed carrots and potato crisp.
