Broiled Halibut & Ficoïde Glaciale
Greek yogurt sauce, crumbled Cotija cheese, broiled halibut, cilantro-ginger sauce, green coriander, ficoïde glaciale (ice lettuce), heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted rye bread crumbs
This is one of those pizzas that was borne out of a trip to the farmers' market. We were walking along in Rittenhouse Square and one of the stands had a tasting basket of these unfamiliar vegetables that looked like succulents covered in frost. They told us it was called ficoïde glaciale, which sounded super fancy and strange, so we obviously had to take some home.
The crystalline bubbles sort of pop in your mouth when you bite into it, with a really satisfying crunch, and the taste is fresh and lemony, so we thought it would pair great with seafood. And since we were already being fancy, halibut seemed like the right choice. And yeah, I know the Food Network tells you that fish and cheese should not go together as some sort of golden rule, but in my opinion, the rules are different when we're talking about pizza. And if it tastes good, who cares? Also, if you can't find the bizarre green also known as ice lettuce, don't get too hung up on it—we've suggested some alternatives below.
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of dough flour for dusting olive oil salt & pepper 2 6-8oz fillets of halibut, skin removed 1 bunch of ficoïde glaciale, or ice lettuce (if you can find it—if not, it has a crunchy, lemony taste, so try substituting it with some lemon zest and your favorite green) handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved a couple thick slices of rye bread, cut into cubes (you can use stale bread here as you’ll be turning them into croutons) handful of green coriander seeds (if you can’t find these, just use regular cilantro) ½ cup Cotija cheese, crumbled
For the Greek yogurt sauce: 9 tablespoons buttermilk ½ cup Greek yogurt 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced pinch of salt
For the cilantro-ginger sauce: 1 garlic clove ½ small jalapeño ½-inch piece ginger, peeled & roughly chopped 3 tablespoons lime juice 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Directions: Preheat your broiler to high. Prepare the cilantro sauce by combining all the ingredients except for the olive oil in a blender, slowly adding the olive oil while you blend. It should be bright green and smooth in texture.
Next, season both sides of your fillets with salt & pepper, and then brush the tops with the sauce. When your broiler is hot, broil the fish until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. You can brush with more of the sauce when they’re done.
Turn off the broiler and preheat your oven to 550° F. While it’s heating, toast your bread crumbs in a pan with some butter over medium heat. Next, whisk together all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce.
When your oven is hot, prepare the dough using the instructions on the right. Once you’ve baked it for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil, followed by a thin layer of the yogurt sauce.
Break up the fish into small pieces and scatter them on the pizza along with the crumbled cheese. Next add the coriander, bread crumbs and tomatoes, and drizzle with the remaining cilantro sauce.
Now pop it in the oven and bake until the crust is a nice golden brown. When it’s done, take it out and top with the crunchy ice lettuce, and enjoy!