Before beginning, prepare some red
pepper purée and parsley
oil for garnish (the parsley oil can easily be omitted from
this recipe and you'll still get great results, but to do it like
the pros, take a few minutes and repare the delicious bright green
oil. You'll find lots of other uses for it (salad dressings come
immediately to mind) besides this one. You could also skip making
the panisse, as this is an extra addition to this dish, but you'd
be missing something delicious.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
1. 
2. 
3. 
Chef Patrick gathered ingredients for the sauce (photo 1), the
dish iteself (photo 2), and the panisse (photo 3) before beginning
to cook.
Let's prepare the sauce
4. 
5. 
6. 
In a small skillet over high heat, add the wine, grated ginger,
thyme, lemongrass stalk and shallot (3).
Add in three generous peels of lemon zest (4). Make sure when
cutting the lemon zest that you get only the outer most yellow
portion of the lemon -- this is where the essential oil, and likewise
the flavor is stored. The white pith under the lemon's yellow
skin is bitter, so take only a thin shaving.
Cook the mixture until it is reduced by half, then add in the
cream (5). Reduce the cream mixture until it is almost dry --
watch carefully, you don't want to burn the pan or have it become
completely dry.
7. 
8.
9. 
10.
Whisk in the butter (6) until melted and combined (7). Let the
sauce sit and cool for about 5 minutes, then strain it (8). Stir
in the red epper puree and lemon juice. Set aside and keep warm.
Now it's time to make the panisse
11. 
12. 
Oil a 4X8 rectangular baking dish and line the bottom with parchment
paper. In a large pot, whisk together the garbanzo bean flour
(11), water and oil. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly,
until thick and smooth. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan
(12) and chill until firm.
13. 
14. 
Remove chilled panisse and cut into thick "French fry"
shaped pieces. Heat olive oil until very hot and fry panisse pieces
until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain on a wire rack and
keep warm.
Now prepare the fish
15. 
16.
17. 
Heat clarifield butter over high heat in an oven proof skillet
until very hot (the amount you use will depend on how many fish
filets you re cooking. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides
of the fish. Place filet in the hot pan. Top with a thin slice
of lemon, a srping of fresh thyme and a generous pat of butter.
Cook for a minute, to brown the bottom then turn fish over (16).
Place the skillet in the rpeheated oven and roast the fish for
about 7 minutes or until done (fish will start to flake with a
fork when properly cooked). Remove fish from the oven and spoon
the brown melted butter in the pan over the filet. Set aside and
keep warm.
Prepare the vegetables
You can begin preparing the vegetables while the fish cooks.
18.
19. 
20.
Heat a small amount of olive oil in an oven proof skillet. Add
the zucchini blossoms and turn to coat (18), place in oven to
roast zucchini.
Trim the stems and tough outer leaves of the baby artichokes
(19) so you are left with a small bulb that's completely edible.
Trim the tough ends off the white asapragus, trim fennel leaves
so you are left with just the white bulb (the leaves make great
garnishes). Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large skillet,
saute the vegetables until they are slightly browned (20).
21. 
22. 
Add enough chicken stock to just cover the veggies (21) and bring
to a simmer. Chef Patrick then showed us a great technique for
cooking the vegetables. He cut a donut shaped circle of parchment
paper (22) which he placed over the veggies (the hole let's the
steam escape).
To plate the dish, spread about 1/4 cup of sauce on a serving
plate. Arrange the veggies around the side of the dish. Spoon
more of the browned butter over the fish, then arrange the fish
on plate as in the photo at the top of the page. Place panisse
fries on top of the fish. Drizzle a bit of parsley
oil around the edges of the sauce and garnish with fresh herbs
and additional lemongrass stalks.
May,
2003 -- Note from 
