brunosdream

I made this dinner for a friend and he snapped a few photos w/ his phone. The picture doesn’t do this meal justice due to being taken w/ a phone camera (I have yet to see a high resolution photo taken w/ a cell phone!), but it was so tasty I decided to post the recipe anyway.

Appetizer:  Missouri goat cheese from Baetje Farms w/ crackers

Entree:  Asian marinated grilled halibut, Israeli couscous blended w/ roasted butternut squash and red onion, Chinese broccoli

Dessert:  Baked apples filled w/  rolled oats, pecans, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and raisins (baked at 425 degrees F for approx. 45 minutes)

For Entree:

Ingredients:

2  8 ounce halibut filets (1 1/4 inches thick)

1 medium sized butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/4 red onion roughly chopped

olive oil

1 1/2  cups Israeli couscous

1 bunch Chinese broccoli

3 cups veggie stock

For marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

4 scallions (green part only) –  finely chopped

3 cloves garlic  – minced

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 1/2  tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 limes – juiced and peel grated 

 Procedure:

1) Whisk together marinade ingredients

2) Place halibut filets in a deep dish then pour marinade over the fish; cover dish and refrigerate for 2 hours (after one hour turn fish over and spoon marinade onto the top of the filets); remove from fridge 1/2 hour before cooking

3) In a large bowl, toss butternut squash and red onion w/ 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then place on a parchment lined sheet pan and season w/ salt and pepper;  preheat oven to 400 degrees F, place pan in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender (check after 20 minutes, rotate pan and return to oven)

4) Place veggie stock into a medium size pot and bring to a boil

5) Add couscous to veggie stock, stir and return to a boil while occasionally stirring; lower heat to medium, continue to stir, then when most of stock is absorbed cover and remove from heat

6) Cut broccoli into 1 1/4 inch pieces; bring a pot of water to a boil, generously salt the water, then add thickest pieces of broccoli to the water and cook for 2 minutes, add the thinner broccoli pieces and cook for another minute then add the broccoli leaves and cook for one more minute; when done cooking, strain in colander

7) Preheat grill, set flame to medium heat, remove halibut filets from marinade and grill for 4 to 5 minutes on each side

8) 4 minutes before fish is done, return couscous to a medium heat, gently stir in roasted squash/onions and cook until warmed throughout

9) Broccoli can be served at room temperature or warmed before plating

10) To plate, place couscous in center of plate, lean halibut filet on couscous then place Chinese broccoli around one side of plate

11) Pour wine and dig in!!

This is a good meal to re-energize yourself during all the holiday hustling and bustling!

Happy Holidays…

Bruno