Tarbell’s knockoff

Mark Tarbell and Tarbell’s are one of the many chef friends/restaurants that I follow on Facebook. A great side-benefit to following these talents is that they sometimes post what is on special for dinner that night. When it looks tempting, I can hurry up and make reservations… or if we don’t feel like going out… I can try and duplicate the dish for my own knock-off “special of the day”.

This was the case late last week when I saw Tarbell’s post above.  It reads:

“A new week, a new Mr. Fish! Nantucket Sea Bass with a stew of sweet corn, summer squash, and Napa cabbage is topped with a cured tomato relish. We’re loving the veggies we’re getting from local Crooked Sky Farms!“

It is a big recipe, but after not posting a recipe for a full week, a big recipe is called for!

I didn’t have sea bass, but I did have halibut. Additionally, I didn’t want to cure tomatoes for the relish, so instead, I used sun-dried tomatoes as the base. Following is the delectable result.

Halibut atop a Sweet Corn, Squash, and Napa Stew topped with Sun-Dried Tomato Relish

Stew
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound yellow summer squash, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
3 ears sweet corn
1 large shallot, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, cored, and minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2  1/2 cups chicken broth or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 cups sliced Napa cabbage
Garnish:
Thinly sliced green onion tops, placed in ice water to crisp and curl
Sun-Dried Tomato Relish
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, patted dry, and julienned
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
Zest of one lemon
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Halibut

2 halibut fillets, about 6 ounces each
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Stew: Shuck corn and cut the kernels from cobs. Halve the cobs and reserve.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and then combine the squash, corn kernels and cobs, shallots, garlic, jalapeño, and cumin.  Cook over medium heat, stirring for 3 minutes.

Stir in broth or water and simmer the mixture until the squash is very tender about 15 minutes. Discard cobs. Lift out about 1 cup of the solids from the mixture and set aside. In a blender, puree the remaining mixture in batches until smooth. Return to the pot along with the 1 cup of reserved solids. Season stew with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, reheat and then remove from heat and stir in the cilantro and Napa cabbage and allow cabbage to wilt in the residual heat.

Relish: In a large bowl blend together the sun-dried tomatoes, green olives, capers, chopped fresh herbs, lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. Toss together and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Halibut: Season the fillets with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it begins to smoke, and then add the butter. Cook the first side of the fillets for 4 minutes, covered. Turn over and cook the other side, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes or until just cooked through.

To serve:  Ladle the stew into two large shallow bowls. Place a halibut fillet on top of each. Generously spoon on tomato relish and garnish with green onion curls.

Serves 2