Grilled Ginger Scallion Halibut with Bacon Dashi, Pea Vines, Roasted Mushrooms and Pickled Fennel

It does get tedious trying to think of what to have for dinner every night.  And then sometimes there are other hurdles as well.  Due to a little work being done inside our house, I've not been able to make my early morning trips to food shop alone.  I've had to wait until mid-day and drag the kids along with me not wanting to leave them at home alone with various workmen.  Apparently, as much as my gals love a good meal, they hate to food shop.  "Why do we have to do this all the time?" they ask.  My answer that if everyone wasn't eating every day, I wouldn't have to food shop all the time, was not well received.  The truth is I food shop all the time because I like to.  It's usually my time and it's fun.  And my resistance to plan ahead for meals often calls for a daily, or every other day, stop at the store. 


I did not get to the store today, so a little freezer dive occurred instead.  I had some shrink-wrapped, flash frozen halibut still swimming around in the freezer downstairs and a jar of frozen bacon dashi.  Away we go.
  
1 1/2 pounds halibut fillet
1 Tablespoon finely chopped ginger
3 Scallions, finely sliced
2 Tablespoon light soy
2 Tablespoon mirin
1 Tablespoon grape seed oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper

Cut halibut into approximately 6 inch pieces in place into a large dish.  Combine marinade ingredients and pour over halibut.  Cover and let marinade in refrigerator for an hour or so.
Make sure your grill is clean.  Heat grill to high.  Brush the grill with a little oil or spray with non stick spray before putting fish on.
Sear the first side for about 4 minutes to get a hard sear, and then flip over to finish, another 2 minutes or so.


For the bacon dashi:
1 piece of konbu, approximately 3" x 6"
1/4 pound smoky bacon, I used Nueskes


Combine konbu with 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Simmer over medium heat, then turn off the stove and let sit for 10 minutes.
Remove the konbu and add the bacon.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then turn down to simmer.  Simmer the bacon for 30 minutes.
Remove the bacon and chill the dashi until the fat separates and hardens on top.  Remove the fat.  You can store the dashi for several days in the refrigerator or separate into a couple of portions and freeze one like I did.
Reheat 2 cups of the dashi and bring to a boil.  Reduce by 1/4.  


For the pea vines:
Saute pea vines simply in a little oil and salt.  Be sure to use only the tender tips of the pea vines and sauté over high heat only until the vines are just wilted.


For the roasted mushrooms:
I used Bunashimeji (Beech Mushrooms)
Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven under the broiler on high for just a few minutes.


For the pickled fennel:
Wash and trim fennel bulb.  Slice lengthwise once and then thinly slice crosswise both halves.  Discard the core.  In a jar, combine 1/2 cup hot water, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp kosher salt.  Place fennel into the liquid, cover and refrigerate.  If using the same day, let the fennel sit out on the counter until ready to use and then refrigerate what's left.


Good fish!