Recipe: Tra Vigne Roasted Artichokes, Carrots, and Fennel with Pan-Roasted Halibut

ROASTED ARTICHOKES, CARROTS, AND FENNEL WITH PAN-ROASTED HALIBUT

"This is a great one-pot dish that is more a method than a recipe. I've kept the seasonings simple. For a heartier dish, you could substitute meat or poultry for the fish, use other vegetables such as potatoes, add garlic, and finish the sauce with red wine instead of white. For a spring feast, you could use fat asparagus in place of the artichokes and add English peas at the very end to cook briefly. If you want to stay away from butter, use olive oil to finish the sauce, although I do prefer the taste of butter here. And if you happen to have baby artichokes in your market, use them. Leave them whole and use three per person."

2 lemons
3 large artichoke hearts, halved instead of quartered
16 baby-cut carrots
1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, then each half cut into quarters (or use 1/2 large bulb)
4 halibut or sea bass steaks, about 6 ounces each
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/4 teaspoons herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, fish or chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fennel leaves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the salted water. Drop in the shells. Add the artichoke hearts, carrots, and fennel. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and spread on a baking sheet to cool.

Season the fish steaks on both sides with salt and pepper and then season each steak with 1/2 teaspoon of the herbs. Heat the olive oil in a heavy, ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the fish and sear for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the fish to a plate.

Replace the pan over medium-high heat and add the artichokes, carrots, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence. Saute until brown, about 3 minutes.

Arrange the fish on top of the vegetables and place the pan, uncovered, in the oven to finish cooking, about 10 minutes.

When cooked, remove the fish and vegetables to a warm platter and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Place the saute pan over medium-high heat and add the wine. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping all the browned bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Cook until reduced by about two-thirds (this is a brothy sauce). Stir in the fennel leaves and the butter, if using. Taste for seasoning and pour over the fish. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings
Source: The Tra Vigne Cookbook by Michael Chiarello, Karl Petzke and Penelope Wisner