The potato crusted halibut idea came from the old show with Anne Burrell, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef. The pistou came from on of my all time favorite meals (Skillet-Roasted Chicken, Farro with Acorn Squash and Kale and Herb Pistou) inspired by Sean Brocks Bon Appetit cover recipe. The craw fish (or crayfish) I bought on a whim with no idea what to do with them. What inspired the salad, I have no clue. I also have no idea what inspired me to put all these things together, but it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients

Potato Crusted Halibut

• 2 halibut filets
• 1-2 large Yukon gold potatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Creole Salad

• 1 package frozen cooked craw fish tails, completely thawed
• 1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 English cucumber, 1/2 thinly sliced length-wise, 1/2 diced
• 1/2 red small onion, diced
• Red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• Creole seasoning
• Cayenne pepper

Herb Pistou

• 1 1/4 cups flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh chives
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Pistou

1. Blanch herbs in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 seconds.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer herbs to a medium bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Squeeze dry; chop.
3. Purée herbs, garlic, and 3/4 cup ice water in a blender until very smooth, about 3 minutes.
4. With machine running, gradually add oil. Season with salt.

Creole Salad

1. Using a mandolin, slice half the cucumber length-wise to create the “bowls”.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine craw fish tails, red beans diced cucumber and onion. Season with Creole seasoning, cayenne pepper and a little vinegar or lemon juice for acidity. Toss to coat.
3. Using a glass or preferably a stainless steel biscuit cutter, place the thin slices of cucumber along the edge. Overlap if needed. Place on serving plate and add the salad mixture. Before serving, remove the cutter slowly.

Potato Crusted Halibut

1. Using a mandolin, slice 1 potato as thin as you can. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a clean, dry work surface.
2. Arrange potato slices in an overlapping vertical line pressing them together as you put them on the parchment. Repeat this process until you have a 4 by 6-inch overlapping potato rectangle that replicates fish scales.
3. Coat the potato with the olive oil and season with salt. Season the halibut with salt. Lay the halibut fillet closer to 1 end of the potato rectangle than the other and then roll the fish up in the potato slices, using the parchment to help facilitate the rolling. Press to compact and really adhere the potatoes to the fish. Brush the outside of the potatoes with olive oil to seal the potatoes and to prevent the potatoes from turning brown, this will also help make a nice tight “fish package”. Refrigerate the fillets for at least 1 hour before cooking.
4. Coat a large nonstick pan with olive oil and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and add to the pan. Cook the fish on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes frequently spooning the excess oil over the fish. The potatoes should be crispy golden brown and very well flavored and the fish should be just cooked through.