Wild halibut with squash pavé, sage and brown butter hollandaise

Squash Pavé

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Line an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper (depending on the size of your squash).
3. In a small pot, combine the duck fat, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom and sage and bring to a gentle simmer. Turn heat off and let infuse for 30 minutes.
4. Using a mandolin, slice the squash as thinly as possible.
5. In a bowl, toss the sliced squash with the infused duck fat, season with salt and pepper.
6. Layer squash slices neatly in the pan to make pavé. The pavé should be 1 ½ inches thick.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes, until tender.
8. When finished, remove foil and cover with a piece of parchment paper. Set a similar sized pan (or plate) on top and weight it down with a large can of whatever is handy (to press the pavé). Chill overnight in the fridge.
9. Before serving remove the parchment paper and reheat in a 350° F oven for 15 minutes or until warmed through. You can also serve without pressing and chilling, keeping in mind the pavé will be moister and won’t hold its shape as well but will be just as delicious.

Brown Butter Hollandaise

1. In a medium pot melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Whisk continuously until the milk solids are separating and starting to brown. Once you have a toasty-brown colour remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. You can strain out the solids or keep them in depending on how much you like a slightly burnt flavour.
3. In a blender, place the lemon juice, egg yolks and the Dijon.
4. With the motor running on medium speed, start to drizzle in the brown butter.
5. Once all butter has been blended in, set aside somewhere warm until you are ready to serve.

Halibut

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the halibut filets on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a small amount of oil.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in a warm spot for 3-5 minutes.

Plating

1. Cut the squash pavé into serving sized squares or rectangles.
2. Place a piece of halibut on top and drizzle with as little or as much hollandaise as you like. Keep in mind, it adds quite a bit of richness, so you can drizzle only a little and put the rest on the table for guests to help themselves.
3. Garnish with a leaf of lightly fried sage if you’d like.