Brown butter roasted halibut with chanterelle mushrooms, corn, quinoa & sage
Serves 6
6 x 5oz halibut portions
1 tbsp. canola oil
¼ pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms
Corn kernels – cut off of 3 very fresh ears of corn
2 cups cooked quinoa (see below) (from ½ cup dry quinoa)
2 garlic cloves, cracked
3 fresh sage leaves
½ cup butter
Juice of one fresh lemon
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Method
-pat dry and season halibut with salt and pepper and pre heat oven
-Heat a large sauté pan (or two regular sized pans) to medium high heat
-put the olive oil in the pan and carefully place the halibut in the pan
-let the halibut sear like this for 45 seconds or so
-flip the halibut and add the garlic, butter and sage
-the butter will start bubbling and browning
-with the pan tipped slightly towards you while still on the heat the butter will pool at the front of the pan
-spoon this butter over the halibut for a couple minutes
-flip the halibut and continue to baste with the butter
-remove the halibut from the pan and place on a baking tray. Finish cooking in the oven until cooked
-while the halibut is in the oven, add the chanterelles to the butter in the pan and cook.
-add the corn and quinoa and season
-Place the corn/quinoa/chanterelle mixture on 6 plates
-place the halibut on top and drizzle with remaining browned butter from the pan
to cook quinoa
-under running cold water swirl dry quinoa around in a mesh strainer
-place quinoa and 1 cup water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil
-turn heat to low and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the water has all been absorbed. Fluff with a fork
(Best paired with Tinhorn Creek Chardonnay)
Jeff Van Geest, Executive Chef
When it comes to modern, local and sustainable cuisine, Chef Jeff Van Geest is one of British Columbia’s most celebrated chefs. Jeff owned and operated Vancouver’s Aurora Bistro for over five years. During this time, Jeff and his restaurant won several prestigious awards: including being named one of enRoute magazine’s top new restaurants in 2004, gold for Best Regional Restaurant and silver for Chef of the Year at the 2006 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, and the 2008 Vancouver Magazine Green Award.
Jeff was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario – right in the heart of Ontario’s Niagara wine region. Growing up with farmers as grandparents, Jeff developed his respect for fresh local produce at a very early age. In 1992, Jeff headed out west to Vancouver, where one of his first jobs he found was working in a restaurant as a cook. He immediately knew this was his passion and enrolled in culinary school.
Jeff completed his culinary training at the Vancouver Community College in 1994 and went on to complete his apprenticeship at Bishop’s – one of Canada’s finest restaurants and a pioneer in sustainability. At Bishop’s, as he worked his way up to Sous Chef, Jeff further developed his deep appreciation for the importance of supporting local farmers and producers, a passion he ingrained into the philosophy of Aurora Bistro, where he built a reputation as a leader in local, sustainable cuisine that was prepared elegantly and with a respect for the ingredients.
After closing Aurora Bistro in 2008, Jeff worked as the Executive Sous Chef at the Diva at the Met until 2010. It was always Jeff’s goal to raise his family in a small town, so Jeff moved to he Okanagan in the summer of 2010 and began researching local farmers and producers. Now heading the kitchen at Miradoro, Jeff is truly in his element – his passion for fresh local products fuelled by B.C’s best fruit and vegetable growing region.