Black Truffle Barded Halibut With Creamed Truffle Corn & Roasted Piquillo Sauce
Here we have a very special ingredient, the succulent halibut cheek. It is further enhanced by barding (or studding) with batons of perigord black truffle and slow poached in duck fat. By folding in black truffle butter to the already decadent sweet corn we create an almost creamy risotto. We round out the dish with a smoky piquillo pepper and sweet and sour summer truffle relish. And of course we finish the dish with shaved perigord black truffle for extra truffle aroma and opulence with popcorn powder for fun.
INGREDIENTS:
Halibut cheeks (large 2-3oz each) 4 ea.
Black truffle perigord .5 #
Brentwood Corn 2 ea.
Vidalia onion (dice) 1 ea.
Cumin 1 tbsp.
Black Truffle Butter 2 tbsp.
Piqullio peppers (can 8 oz.) 1 ea.
Sherry vinegar 4 tbsp.
Honey 2 tbsp.
Olive Oil 1 cup
Butter 8 oz.
Duck Fat 2 cups
Summer Truffle (small dice) .5 #
Shallot (brunoise) 1 ea.
Popcorn (microwavable) 1 ea.
Salt
Cayenne
DIRECTIONS:
For the Halibut Cheeks: Cut the black truffle into fat batons, saving all the trimmings. Using a pairing knife or a metal skewer, make holes in the cheeks by piercing through the cheek. Push the baton into the holes in the cheeks. You are looking for a snug fit. Reserve.
For the Sweet Corn: Clean the corn ensuring there is none of the silk (the thin hair) left on the ears of the corn. In a bowl cut the corn off the ear, then take the back of your knife and scrape the ear to extract any milk (or juice) for extra flavor. Sweat the onion dice in butter. Add salt and cumin stirring frequently to ensure no color on the onion. After the onion is translucent (about 10 minutes) add the corn and cook at low heat. When tender (about 20 minutes) blend a quarter of the corn until very smooth and creamy and fold back into corn. Stir in 4 oz. of butter as well as the truffle butter. Season with salt and cayenne. Reserve.
For the Relish: Peel the Summer Truffle with a microplane and reserve. Sweat the Vidalia onion in the remaining butter until translucent. Dice the flesh of the truffle and add to the onion. Continue to cook adding half of the sherry vinegar and the peel of the summer truffle. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.
For the Popcorn: Follow the manufacturer’s direction and pop the popcorn in the microwave. Allow to cool and blend at high speed to make a dust. Reserve.
For the Piqullio Puree: Rinse the peppers out of the can and char half of them. Blend on high adding remaining vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Season with salt and cayenne. Reserve.
To Serve: Drop the halibut cheeks into the duck fat at 160 degrees and poach for 8 minutes constantly stirring. Warm the creamed corn should have the consistency of risotto and plate. Drizzle some piqullio sauce around the corn and dust some of the popcorn on the outside of the dish. Remove the cheek from the duck fat onto a paper towel and season with salt and cayenne. Place on top of corn then top with truffle relish. Shave remaining black truffle on the dish and serve. Serves 4
