Just for the Halibut: Lager-battered Fish Sandwich with Garlic Truffle Fries

This week, Stingray and I made use of two snow-white halibut fillets we had in the freezer (fate of the second fillet to be revealed tomorrow). I was lucky enough to have him make me this outrageous fried fish sandwich for Sunday supper. Despite having a reputation for being the ultimate convenience food, sandwiches are actually a luxury dinner item at our house.  They often require ingredients that we don’t keep on file (bread and sliced cheeses),  and require a keen attention to detail to make them extra tasty (hence why he cooked and I didn’t). Stingray did a basic beer batter for the fish, with classic accompaniments: lettuce, tomato, sliced cheese. He hit it out of the park by buttering and toasting both sides of the bun before serving. I was feeling kind of useless in the kitchen, so my contribution was a  dill aioli and some garlic truffle fries.

For the batter:

• 1 bottle lager
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp fish seasoning
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus ½ cup
• Canola or vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, mix together the beer, baking powder,  pepper, cayenne pepper, seasoning and salt. Whisk in the flour until the mixture resembles thin pancake batter, add more flour if needed.
2. Fill a medium-sized pan with about a ½ inch of  oil and heat over medium-high until it begins to shimmer. Season the halibut, dredge lightly in the ½ cup of flour (helps the batter to stick), dip it into the batter, and cook the fish until crispy and flaky, 4 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the fillets and rest on paper towel lined plate, pat gently to coax away excess oil.

For the aioli:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1-2 crushed cloves garlic
• 1 lemon (juice and zest)
• 1/2 cup dill, finely chopped
• s/p to taste
• 2 T olive oil

Add all ingredients to food processor, blend until smooth.  Taste, and adjust flavors as you like. Smear on toasted buttered buns before stacking fish fillet, cheese, tomato, lettuce.

Garlic Truffle Fries

• 2 blemish-free Russet potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• 4 T finely chopped parseley
• truffle salt
• truffle oil
• s/p to taste

1. Place cookie sheet in oven and crank  to 400. Slice potatoes into long wedges. In a large bowl, coat potato wedges liberally with olive oil. Mix in 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2T parsley, salt and pepper.
2. Distribute potatoes onto hot cookie sheet and bake undisturbed for at least 15 mins before flipping.  Bake for another 15 minutes or until tender and crispy.
3. Before serving, gently toss with remaining 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 T parsley, a drizzle of truffle oil and several pinches of truffle salt. Serve and enjoy.