Georgian braises with Asian salads and panko-crusted fish

The halibut filet gets a dry panko and garlic crust instead of a batter, because a batter is the one thing that will not survive a second heating. I press the crumb on, sear the underside briefly to set it, then finish the fish in the oven so it stays opaque and only just firm. Reheat it at 400°F for eight minutes on a sheet pan, uncovered. Covering it steams the crust into paste, and the same goes for the crumb on the chicken rounds.

The chicken skewers are wrapped in beef bacon rather than pork, which renders darker and tighter than most people expect. The peanut dressing for the steamed broccoli and edamame is packed in its own jar, so anyone with a nut allergy can leave it off and still eat the dish.

Zucchini is at its peak right now, so I braised it with white beans instead of roasting it, which keeps the slices from collapsing by day four. Sourcing decides the cabbage, carrot and cashew salad more than any technique does: a limp market cabbage will not crunch on Thursday no matter how thin you shred it, so I cut it dry and keep the ginger dressing in a separate jar.