Chile Glazed Halibut With Avocado Tomatillo Sauce Recipe Epicuriouscom

TEXAS TOMATILLO AVOCADO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place tomatillos into a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
• Transfer tomatillos to a blender. Add avocados, sour cream, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, fajita seasoning, and sea salt; blend until smooth.
• Refrigerate blended sauce until flavors meld, at least 4 hours.

AVOCADO TOMATILLO SALSA

Steps:

• Place tomatillos into a food processor. Add serrano pepper, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Process until smooth; adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl.

CHILE-GLAZED HALIBUT WITH AVOCADO-TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• For glaze:
• Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Stir before using.
• For Sauce:
• Combine all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.
• For fish:
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Make crosswise slits in each fillet, cutting to within 1/4 inch of bottom and spacing slits about 3/4 inch apart. Brush glaze over top and into slits. Place orange slices in slits. Sprinkle fish with ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Place fish, orange side up, on grill; cover and cook until fish is opaque, about 8 minutes. Using wide spatula, carefully transfer fish to platter. Let rest several minutes. Spoon avocado sauce onto plates, spreading slightly. Arrange 1 fillet over sauce on each plate and serve.
• *Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapeños canned in adobo sauce. They are available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and at Latin markets.
• **Green and tomato-like with a papery husk, tomatillos are sold in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Latin markets.

CHILE-GLAZED PORK CHOPS WITH FRESH TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• Slather both sides of the pork chops with the chile paste and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes (and up to a few hours).
• Leave a light coating of the chile paste on the pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Place a large, well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork chops in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until the meat turns golden brown.
• Pour in enough beer to barely cover the chops. Cover the pan (top with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan if yours does not have a lid) and decrease the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn the pork chops over and cook for another 15 minutes.
• Uncover the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Allow the liquid to reduce almost completely, flipping the pork chops over every few minutes to ensure that both sides become glazed with the reduced sauce. This should take about 10 minutes.
• Serve warm with tomatillo sauce.
• INGREDIENTS
• Pork Chops
• Because bone-in pork chops are more flavorful than boneless chops, I prefer them in this recipe. But feel free to use either one. I also like to use the thick cuts, but the thin ones also work well. Just make sure to decrease the braising time if you are using thin cuts because they will cook in less time.
• TECHNIQUES
• Braising the Pork Chop
• Braising is a technique used to tenderize tough cuts of meat. The meat is first seared to develop a nice golden crust, then simmered in a liquid to cook it through without drying it out. You will find variations of this technique throughout the meat recipes in this book, as Mexican cooking tends to use tougher (and tastier) cuts of meat.
• ADVANCE PREPARATION
• The red chile paste and tomatillo sauce can be made well in advance (up to 3 days before). Once the pork chops are braised, they can be held, covered, in a warm (250°F) oven for about 1 hour before serving.

AVOCADO AND TOMATILLO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, cook the tomatillos in water to cover until they turn pale green and are slightly soft, 5-6 minutes.
• Drain and put them in a food processor.
• Cut the avocado in half; remove seed; peel and add to the processor along with the remaining ingredients.
• Process until smooth.
• Adjust seasoning to taste; serve within 4 hours for best color.

GRILLED HALIBUT WITH TOMATO-AVOCADO SALSA

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix all salsa ingredients until well blended. Cover and refrigerate about 20 minutes or until chilled.
• If fish steaks are large, cut into 6 serving pieces. In shallow glass or plastic dish, mix all remaining fish ingredients. Place fish in dish; turn to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours.
• Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Remove fish from marinade; reserve marinade. Cover and grill fish over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, brushing 2 or 3 times with marinade and turning once, until fish flakes easily with fork. Discard any remaining marinade. Serve fish with salsa.