It was a cold and snowy day and night. October 2011 brought some of the most unusual weather we have ever seen. I prepared for a weekend of cooking. I shopped Friday and planned for a Sunday supper of osso buco and saffron risotto for our family and halibut with clams and mushrooms for Joe and myself Saturday evening. When I got up Saturday morning the skies were gray and laden with moisture. The storm started as a cold rain but by about nine thirty a.m. changed over to snow that allegedly wasn’t supposed to occur until much later that afternoon.
Joe made a mad dash to take down the outdoor canopies but they were covered with snow before he could put them away. Trees and power lines quickly became burdened with the weight of a heavy wet snow. As with many local weather events, this was given a name, “snowtober”.
I decided to get a head start on some kitchen prep and Joe, anticipating the need for our generators headed to his favorite hardware store, Finkles for some parts. Then it happened, the power went out for fifteen minutes, then back on for ten, off again, on again, then finally off. A call to PECO confirmed my suspicions, we were going to be without power for a long time. Prep for tomorrow’s osso buco was put aside for now.
Thanks to my mom we have an unusually large collection of flashlights and lanterns that really come in handy when the power is out. Our kitchen cooktops are powered with propane. So dinner, lights on or not, would still go on. Candelabras, flashlights and lanterns aimed at our workstations, we prepped leeks and mushrooms.
Halibut with leeks, mushrooms and clams has become a favorite weekend dinner of ours. In the course of a year I try many new recipes. Many just once, others like this become part of our regular dinner rotation. It is elegant and deceptively easy. Delicately flavored halibut is combined with briny clams, mellow sweet leeks and earthy mushrooms. I am always making additions and substitutions to the recipe, sweet onions for the leeks, mussels for the clams. Halibut can be expensive, another firm fleshed white fish such as monkfish or Chilean sea bass would be a good choice. Sometimes we add spinach or kale to make this a heartier dish.
Dinner was delicious and was the best part of the weekend. The power came on the next morning, only to go out again that afternoon. The osso buco would have to wait for another weekend. Almost exactly one year later, we are waiting to see the path of hurricane Sandy. This storm isn’t going to bring snow, but heavy rain and wind. Generators are at the ready and our flashlights have fresh batteries. Our food shopping trip will include a stop at our favorite seafood market so that we will be ready for whatever the weather will bring.
Braised Halibut with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Clams
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 large leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken or clam broth
- 1 pound fresh halibut, skin removed (preferably wild)
- 2 dozen little neck clams, well-scrubbed
- 4c thinly sliced oyster or hen-of-the-woods mushrooms
- the zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven with a lid. Add the mushrooms, garlic clove, and leeks; season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add the broth, raise the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
- Season the halibut with salt and pepper. Nestle the fish and the clams in the skillet. Bring the broth back to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce heat to low. Cook gently until the fish is just cooked through and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes. If all of the clams are not open, remove the fish and the opened clams and continue cooking until the remaining clams open, another 2-3 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened by this time. Stir in the lemon zest and sprinkle with the parsley.
- Serve the fish and clams in a shallow bowl topped with the delicious broth and vegetables.
- Cody is up for whatever the weather brings!
