Living in the Bay Area is a blessing, especially if you’re a cyclist because we have the best places to ride, and of course the best places to eat. One of my favorite restaurants is in Napa Valley – Michael Chiarello’s “Tra Vigne.” They serve a Halibut dish with roasted artichokes, carrots and fennel in a white wine sauce that is absolutely “to die for.”

One day Sherry and I decided to make this dish but there was one problem; I had a ride the next day and this was not going to provide me with the appropriate amount of carbs or vitamins and minerals I find necessary for my preparation. So we deconstructed the dish in an attempt to make it perfect for the endurance athlete. We started by replacing the artichokes with sweet potatoes (which have the perfect amount of carbs, protein and calories), then the carrots with asparagus (which is a great antioxidant and provides you with quality minerals and vitamins, such as folate, and of course is packed with flavor) but we decided the fennel was too important to change and of course the Halibut (amazing source of protein) stayed.

The recipe passed with flying colors. It was exciting to prepare, plated well, tasted great and I had an awesome ride the next day and felt great!

- Kevin M. Eisele

- Photo by Sherry Heck

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large Sweet potatoes cut into 1” pieces
• 16 pieces of Asparagus
• 1 small bulb Fennel, halved lengthwise, then each half cut into quarters
• 4 halibut steaks, about 6 ounces
• 2 ¼ teaspoons herbs de Provence
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 ½ finely chopped fennel leaves
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Add sweet potatoes and fennel, cook until just tender (about 6-8 minutes), add asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain and cool the vegetables.

Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, and then season the steaks with the herb de Provence (1/2 a teaspoon per steak). Heat olive oil in a heavy sauté pan, over medium heat until hot. Add the fish to the pan and sear for about 2 minutes per side (I used a long thin cut of fish for the recipe and this cooked it perfectly), remove fish and wrap it in foil.

Add the vegetables to the pan. Add salt, pepper and remaining ¼ teaspoon herbes de Provence. Sauté until brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove the vegetables to a warm plate and keep warm while you make the sauce. Place the sauté pan over medium heat-high heat and add the wine. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by two-thirds.