July 28 -
The Carefree Gourmet
Halibut Zukes
by Joyce McCombs
At first glance, halibut and zucchini don’t seem to have a lot in
common. A halibut swims slowly and contentedly under water for
years until you haul him into the boat. Zukes grow rapidly and
voraciously under the midnight sun, gobbling up water and
fertilizer at an alarming pace. But if you think about it, these
two yummy items have many similarities. Besides being delicious,
they often grow to mammoth proportions and can require some
serious wrangling to get into the freezer. A big halibut can flop
around on the deck of the boat until it’s finally considered
caught, and I’ve had some serious tangles with monster zucchini
that have made me want to fetch the shotgun and teach them a
lesson before I was all through. Both ‘but and zukes taste fine
deep fried in golden batter, and both freeze extremely well and
both will use up every single zip top bag in the house when you’re
processing them.
Both of these Alaskan favorites are featured this week, mainly
because I needed to find some new recipes for the fish the
Carefree Kids brought back from Valdez last year, and for the
zukes that magically appeared on my kitchen counter last week,
courtesy of my pal, Janine, that sneaky girl. I looked through the
Carefree archives since I was moving things around this weekend,
and I found some pretty good ideas. I know you’re busy, so I’ll
keep the chatter to a minimum, and wish you a tasty supper!
Broiled Spiced Halibut
Low cal, low carb, low prep time, but big on taste.
Marinate 4 halibut steaks in this mixture for an hour:
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 or 5 tablespoons of sherry or white wine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons honey
Turn the fish after 30 minutes so it marinates evenly, then remove
the steaks and drain well. Place on a sprayed broiler pan or sheet
of foil, making sure they are not touching each other. Broil about
10 minutes per inch of thickness or until the fish flakes easily.
Beer Batter Halibut
Classic, simple, delicious. Don’t use light beer – regular is
best.
2 pounds halibut, cut into 1-inch thick chunks & dried on paper
towels
1 cup flour
1 12 ounce bottle of beer
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Heat plenty of oil in a deep-fat fryer to 375. (Canola oil is
great). Combine flour, beer, paprika and salt, mix well. Dip the
fish into the beer batter and drop into hot oil, taking care not
to crowd the pan. Cook until the batter is golden brown (just a
couple of minutes). Remove the halibut from the hot oil and drain
on paper towels. Serve immediately.
FRIED ZUCCHINI CAKES
I leave the skin on when I grate Zukes – it looks pretty and I’ve
always believed that’s where the vitamins hide! If you have a cast
iron skillet, now is the time to use it. These remind me of potato
latkes and are good with sour cream.
1/3 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
Olive oil
Mix Bisquick, cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir in eggs
until mixture becomes moist. Fold in zucchini. Heat oil in skillet
over medium heat. Use approximately 2 tablespoons batter for each
pancake. Fry 2 to 3 minutes each side until brown. Makes 8 to 10
pancakes.
DEEP FRIED HALIBUT
This is the recipe we use most often at McCombs Manor and it’s
great for onion rings, too. Remember to cut the fish the same
size, and keep the oil clean and hot for best results. And again
don’t crowd that fryer – it makes the oil temp go down and fish
will turn soggy.
Halibut fillets cut in 1” chunks
Krusteaz complete buttermilk pancake mix
Beer
Potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)
Mix Krusteaz and beer together to make a thin batter. Add salt and
pepper to taste, mix again and let it sit for ten minutes.
Meanwhile put a few fish chunks at a time into a colander,
sprinkle lightly with flour and shake off the excess. Set aside in
a single layer to dry slightly. When oil is hot (375) dip halibut
chunks in batter, then roll in potato flakes, coating very
lightly. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain well before serving.
Favorite Zuke Bake
Last time I made this I was out of Ritz and used plain soda
crackers. Wasn’t the same – it’s worth running to the neighbors to
borrow the crackers if you have to!
6 zucchini, peeled and sliced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
32 Ritz crackers, crushed
Preheat oven to 350 and spray or butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
Boil zucchini and onion in a large pot half full of water for 10
minutes; drain well. Add the butter, cheese, eggs, salt and pepper
to pot and toss gently until squash is well coated. Transfer to
prepared baking dish and sprinkle with cracker crumbs, dot with
butter if desired. Bake for 1 hour until top is deep golden brown.
CURRY SAUCE
Try your halibut with this next time – it’s a nice change from
tartar sauce and good with any seafood, especially shrimp, cold or
hot.
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons curry powder
½ teaspoon onion salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix well and chill before serving.
Denali Halibut
From the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Sounds great, but I
had to wonder how many halibut they actually catch at Denali?
1 tablespoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoon each dried oregano and dried thyme
1 teaspoon each onion powder and garlic powder
1 teaspoon each black pepper and salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
4 halibut steaks
Mix together all dry-seasoning ingredients. Place fish on
spray-coated baking sheet or broiler pan. Brush fish with butter,
then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon seasoning. Broil 10 minutes per inch
of thickness, until fish flakes easily. Store remaining seasoning
mixture in airtight container for future use.
Crock Pot Zucchini Soufflé
One of my favorite “set it and forget it” recipes. You can
substitute sharp Cheddar cheese for the Parmesan if you like.
4 cups grated zucchini
1 ¾ cups Bisquick
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all
ingredients in a bowl. Pour into crockpot and cook on low for 6 to
8 hours.
TUSCAN HALIBUT
We’re all supposed to eat more beans, and sometimes it’s hard to
face them on their own. This tasty combination should do the
trick. Look for prepared pesto in jars in the produce section by
the minced garlic, or sometimes it’s with the canned tomatoes and
pasta sauces.
4 sheets (12 x 18" each) heavy-duty aluminum foil
2 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern or cannellini beans, rinsed &
drained
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 tablespoons prepared pesto, divided
4 medium halibut steaks
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons. lemon pepper
4 lemon slices
Preheat oven to 450. Combine beans, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons
pesto; mix well. Divide pesto mixture evenly between foil sheets.
Top with one halibut steak per sheet; drizzle each one with lemon
juice. Sprinkle lemon pepper, then top with lemon slices. Seal
packets and bake 16 to 20 minutes on a cookie sheet. Take care
when opening packets, as steam will escape.
Halibut Veggie Bake
A cheesy version of fish in foil packets featuring our friend
zucchini, too!
4 halibut fillets
4 sheets (12 x 18" each) heavy-duty aluminum foil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cayenne pepper
2 medium zucchini, sliced
½ medium red bell pepper, cut in strips
8 slices onion rings
Preheat oven to 450°F, spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
Place fillet on each sheet of foil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
and cayenne pepper. Top with vegetables. Seal packets and Bake 18
to 22 minutes on a cookie sheet. Pass extra Parmesan when serving.
Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
For once, no shredding the zukes!
4 slices bread, cubed
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups cubed zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 egg, beaten
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place bread
cubes in a medium bowl and toss with melted butter. Add the
zucchini, onion, garlic salt and egg; mix well. Transfer the
mixture to baking dish and top with the cheese.
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for
another 30 minutes. Let rest fifteen minutes before cutting into
squares to serve.
Next time I’ll be sharing blueberry recipes, as I hear (and have
tasted!) that the crop this year is outstanding. If you go out
picking, don’t forget to tuck some berries away in your freezer so
you can enter the Alaska State Blueberry Pie Championship at the
Deltana Fair – it’s coming up soon on August 19 – 21. You need to
win that beautiful engraved golden pie pan! It’s not too soon to
start thinking about what culinary creations you’d like to enter
in the Foods Division, either. Your columnist loves to interview
Grand Champion winners – especially you younger chefs out there.
Start reading through cookbooks now, and practice, practice,
practice! JMc
