Farm to Fork Dinner and Halibut-Potato Patties

I catered a lovely dinner last night at Whispering Winds Farm in Stanwood. It was my very first farm dinner, as well as a first for the hosts, Charlene and Doug. We were all quite pleased, and we all felt that we'd learned some valuable lessons to make the event even more successful next time.

It was clear to Charlene and Doug that they should have held the event later in the season, with more produce to choose from, and we shouldn't have committed to a specific menu months ago, when we had no idea how fickle the weather would be. I learned that I should have brought many more bowls, more utensils, and a larger griddle.

Most of the recipes came from my friend Debra's wonderful collection, The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook. We were going to make Romanesco with Northwest Berry Vinegar, and Charlene planted romanesco specifically for the occasion, but the weather didn't cooperate. We used broccoli instead, from Willie Greens Farm, which was a great stand in. We also made a salad with a variety of gorgeous lettuces from Let Us Farm, and Carrots with Fennel Seeds and Hazelnuts, using a mix of yellow and orange carrots from various farms.

For the protein, we made Halibut and Potato Patties (my recipe, developed for the occasion) using some spectacular halibut from Wilson Fish, along with potatoes from Alvarez Farms, and herbs from Whispering Winds.

Here's the recipe, scaled down for home use:

1 lb. filleted halibut
olive oil, salt, and pepper

1 lb. yellow or red potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
handful of chopped, fresh parsley
handful of chopped, fresh chives
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the halibut with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and bake for about 20 minute, until it's flaky in the middle.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until they're very soft.

Drain the potatoes, and mash them. Crumble the halibut. Mixed the crumbled halibut with the mashed potatoes, and add the parsley, chives, olive oil, salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into patties, and brown them for a few minutes on each size in s skillet or on a griddle. Alternately, arrange the patties on a baking sheet, brush them with oil, and bake them at 375 degrees until they just start to brown.

For the yogurt sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup whole milk yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil gently in a medium-size saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, until you can smell it. Mix the sauteed garlic with the remaining ingredients. Serve the yogurt sauce spooned on top of the halibut patties.