Pan-fried Halibut with lobster tortellini, seafood bisque and caviar

Nitin Pawar

Nitin Pawar

21st January 2020
Nitin Pawar

Pan-fried Halibut with lobster tortellini, seafood bisque and caviar

120 min

Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Ingredients

Halibut

  • • 160g Halibut • Lemon juice • Oil

Lobster tortellini

  • • 250g lobster (finely chopped) • 70g salmon • 1 lemon juice and zest • 1 tsp chervil (chopped) • 1 tsp dill leaves (chopped) • 80g crème fraiche • Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta dough

  • • 300g pasta flour • 2 eggs • 3 egg yolks • 2 tsp olive oil • 2 tbsp saffron water • Salt

Seafood bisque

  • • 250g mixed fish trimmings • 1 white onion (chopped) • ½ a fennel bulb • 1 carrot • 2 garlic cloves • 1 tsp tomato puree • 1 bay leaf • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme • 80ml white wine • 2l fish stock • 1-3 tsp lobster glace • 1 red chilli • Lemon juice

Method

Lobster tortellini

1) Blend the salmon in a blender, slowly adding crème fraiche until it’s a paste.
2) Put the paste in a mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, herbs, lemon juice, zest and chopped lobster.
3) Mix all ingredients together and put in the fridge.

Pasta dough

1) Mix together the egg, yolks, olive oil and saffron water.

2) Add the pasta flour and mix into the dough.

3) Cover the dough in cling film and put in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 1 hour.
4) Roll out the pasta using a machine on the setting to make pasta sheets and cut into 10cm diameter rings, dust with flour and cover with cling film.
5) Place lobster filling in the centre of the pasta discs and fold the edges to seal, making sure there’s no air in the tortellini pockets.
6) Put the tortellini into boiling salt water for three minutes and then chill them in ice water. Drain the water and keep in the fridge.

Seafood bisque

1) Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chopped onion, fennel, garlic, carrot and bay leaves. Cook gently until the vegetables are soft.

2) Add the tomato puree, white wine and fish and combine together.
3) Add fish stock, cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer gently for 30 mins over low heat.

4) Add the lobster glace and stir it well.

5) Blitz the soup in the blender until a smooth puree and pass through a fine sieve. Season to taste.
6) Season the halibut fillets on both sides with salt and add to the frying pan 2 to 3 minutes on one side till golden brown, then flip it over and put in the oven for 3 to 4 mins until cooked.

To serve

• Place the halibut on a bed of spinach. Arrange 3-4 pieces of lobster tortellini on one side of the plate, and garnish with caviar, sea purslane and a spoon of bisque foam.

• Serve the seafood bisque in a jug on the side.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.