Panko Parm Halibut Cheeks

As if I needed another reason to adore Olympia Seafood Company, they provided me with a huge one last week. I stopped in to grab something to cook up for dinner and something stood out in a big way. Halibut Cheeks, fresh that day. After making that selection I got 8 of them (3/4 lb) and the man helping me (I believe he owns the place) got really excited as they were going to be his dinner as well. Having never cooked Halibut Cheeks before I asked what his plan was. Excitedly, he told about how the guy at the restaurant next door (I have to imagine he was talking about Dockside Bistro). Breaded with a mixture of panko and parmesan, egg white wash, a bit of salt and pepper, pan fried, dip it in a red sauce. I was sold. Literally on the cheeks, figuratively on the recipe. To make things easy for me, he even offered a handful of panko so I wouldn't have to put any unnecessary time between me and dinner. I had some though and happily declined. I drove home and whipped up this choice meal.

Panko Parm Halibut Cheeks

8 med size halibut cheeks
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/2 cup panko
3 egg whites
salt
pepper
ghee or vegetable oil
your favorite red pasta sauce... or make your own

The Cheeks:

Super Easy!

Mix the parm and panko in a blender. Blend. Put on plate thats larger than the biggest cheek.

Hit both sides of the raw cheeks with salt and pepper (I rolled them in it, which was a little excessive)

Dip a cheek in the egg whites.

Bread it in the panko and parm mixture. Don't be afraid to press a little bit on to make sure it sticks.

Repeat with each cheek.

The sauce:

I mixed a can of organic tomato sauce with all the available herbs from the garden. Those were...

Greek oregano
Chives
Silver thyme
Parsley
Rosemary

I didn't feel like chopping, so I blended them and added it to the sauce with about 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.

Cooking:

I used about a tbsp of ghee for each batch of 4 cheeks. Burner on medium-high in a nonstick pan. Approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Bring the sauce to a boil.

Serve.

Love.