- 6 baby potatoes (creamers, red new potatoes, or Yukon golds)
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces white domestic mushrooms, trimmed and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 12 shiitake mushrooms, stems reserved and caps cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1¾ cups Chicken Stock or low-salt canned chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
- 2 leeks, green part only, well washed and cut on the diagonal into ½-inch slices
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 halibut steaks or fillets, 6 ounces each
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (tarragon, savory, or parsley)
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- For the ragout:
- Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold, salted water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool and cut each potato into 6 pieces.
- In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over high heat until just smoking. Add the white mushrooms and shiitake stems and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer about 15 minutes, until the broth is full-flavored. Strain the broth, discarding the solids.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking and sauté the shiitake caps until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the leeks and butter, cover, and cook until the leeks are tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
- Add the potatoes to the leek mixture, stir in the mushroom broth, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- For the halibut:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle on one side with the fresh herbs and herbes de Provence.
- In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the fish, herb-side down, and sear until golden. Place in the oven and roast without turning until opaque and medium rare, 7 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness. Alternatively, you can continue to cook the fish on top of the stove, turning once, until medium-rare, 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
- To serve:
- Divide the ragout among 4 warm, shallow serving bowls and top with a halibut fillet. Serve immediately.
- Variation:
- Serve mushroom ragout with:
- Snapper, instead of Potato Galette and Port Wine Sauce
- Salmon, instead of Lentils and Red Wine Sauce
- Roasted cod, instead of Confit Bayaldi