Featured recipe: BRAISED HALIBUT WITH ASPARAGUS AND WILD MUSHROOMS
By Pat Tanner Special Writer
Yes, “On the Line: Inside the World of Le Bernardin” is yet another book from a famed New York restaurant with a celebrity chef — in this case Eric Ripert, in collaboration with Christine Muhlke, a food writer for The New York Times. And, yes, it includes recipes, but they are not the focus. The focus, and what makes this book stand apart, is the fascinating picture it presents of the inner workings of a world-class restaurant, one that has been ranked at the top of the dining scene for two decades.
You need not have dined at Le Bernardin nor even be a fan of the restaurant to appreciate this book. If you enjoy patronizing fine-dining restaurants, I suspect you’ll find Christine Muhlke’s observations, interviews with staff, and the background information and minutiae she dispenses downright riveting. For example, I found myself shouting, “Yes! Yes” as I read this quote from maitre d’ Ben Chekroun about what he aims for in dining room service:
“I like it to be a very professional experience, but a little bit on the friendly side,” he says. “Friendly-elegant. Not too much fanfare or ceremony. I want the staff — captains and front waiters especially — to learn how to read the guests, if they want to chitchat a little bit or be left alone. Guests should have amazing service, without noticing the waiters as they serve and clear. And ideally guests get the feeling that the staff is there to please you and are friendly from the heart, not because that’s what they have to do.”
In fact, Mr. Chekroun gives new hires a list of what the restaurant considers 129 “cardinal sins” of service. As a veteran restaurant reviewer I can assure you I have encountered all 129 of them, and I’d bet you have, too. Here are those that receive multiple exclamation points:
• Not acknowledging guests with eye contact and a smile within 30 seconds.
• Not thanking guests as they leave.
• Not remembering the guests’ likes and dislikes.
• Clattering dishes. (Be quiet).
• Needing to be the center of attention. (Give the ego a break).
• Socializing with certain guests while ignoring others.
• Not providing a place for meal debris (e.g., shells).
• Walking past items dropped on the floor.
• Coffee in the saucer.
Other “sins” are even more exacting, like placing a cocktail napkin askew or upside down. It’s no wonder that Le Bernardin is one of only three New York restaurants to receive three stars (the highest rating) in the 2009 Michelin Guide to New York (the others are Jean Georges and Per Se).
The book includes about 50 recipes, which it labels “sophisticated.” Translation: It takes a truly dedicated home cook to replicate them in toto. But the wise cook can always reproduce only the key components of a multipart dish — say, seared tuna with a spice rub but without the accompanying tuna tartare, homemade flatbread crackers, creme fraiche-yuzu sauce, and garnish of micro cilantro sprouts.
A few recipes are even suitable for home cooking as they are, including the spring-conjuring halibut dish, below. The book provides directions for making veal jus, but it can be approximated by fiddling with purchased veal- or veal-and- beef demi-glace, which is available at upscale markets around the area. Full disclosure: The recipe also calls for eight slices of tomato confit. While the recipe is very simple, there is just not enough space to include it here. If you choose to substitute, say, oil-packed dried tomatoes, they are added with the bacon and asparagus in Step 6. You’ll note that that step also employs the restaurant’s rather idiosyncratic method for assessing the correct doneness of fish.
Here are a couple of additional tips. Fresh wild mushrooms can be very costly. Any mix of mushrooms will do, as long as it includes some wild. To make peeling pearl onions easier, blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, cool slightly, then slip off the skins.
BRAISED HALIBUT
WITH ASPARAGUS AND WILD MUSHROOMS
adapted from “On the Line: Inside the World of Le Ber nardin”
by Eric Ripert & Christine Muhlke (Artisan 2008)
½ bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 slice of bacon, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 pearl onions
4 ounces cepes (porcini)
4 ounces chanterelles
4 ounces oyster mushrooms
4 ounces morels
2 tablespoons Garlic Butter (recipe follows)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Four 6-ounce halibut fillets
2 cups veal jus
1 tablespoon sliced chives for garnish
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until just barely tender. Drain and immediately plunge into an ice water bath to cool; drain again and set aside.
2. In a large casserole, cook bacon over medium heat until it has rendered its fat and is crisp. Drain on a paper towel.
3. Pour off all the bacon fat from the casserole; melt the butter. Add the pearl onions and 1 tablespoon water and cook until tender.
4. When the onions are tender, add all the mushrooms and the garlic butter, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the veal jus to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the halibut, cover, and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the asparagus and bacon to the casserole. Bring back to a simmer and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes, until a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in for 5 seconds, feels just warm when touched to your lip.
7. Garnish the fish with sliced chives and serve at the table from the casserole.
Serves 4.
Garlic Butter:
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
Wrap the parsley in a square of cheesecloth and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Whip the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the garlic, shallot, and parsley and mix well. Transfer the butter to a plastic container and store, tightly sealed, for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer.

