Braised Alaskan Halibut with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Clams

I love to make seafood soups and stews aboard the s/v Mystic Knot… most likely due to the availability of freshly caught fish and other seafoods. This halibut and clam soup is one of my favorite galley-gourmet style recipes. I found the recipe in an old Fine Cooking magazine I had onboard. Recipe below… with a few of my tweaks.

Ingredients
½ c. unsalted butter
4 c. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
3 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, sliced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1+ t. red pepper flakes
2½ c. organic veggie broth
2 fresh bay leaves
1 inch piece fresh ginger
12 – 16 oz. skinless Alaska halibut chunks
16 to 24 small clams, scrubbed
½ c. dry white wine
1 T. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Lemon Juice

Method
Melt the butter over medium heat in an large sauté pan with a lid. Add the mushrooms and leeks and season lightly with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaves, and ginger. Raise the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.

Season the halibut with salt and pepper. Nestle the fish and clams among the vegetables in the skillet. Add the wine. Bring the broth back to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce the heat to low. Cook gently until the fish is just cooked through and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes. If all of the clams are not open, remove the fish and the open clams and continue cooking until the remaining clams open, another 2 to 3 minutes. Discard any clams that haven’t opened by this time.

Serve soup-style in shallow bowls. Evenly disperse halibut and top with leeks and mushrooms, surrounded by clams and broth, and sprinkled with chopped parsley and lemon juice.

Pairs nicely with warmed rustic bread for dipping and a green salad with a citrus vinaigrette like this one from Bon Appetit.