What I Ate For Dinner

This harrowing photo discloses what I ate for dinner on Monday night: trout.

When Sam pulled the trout out from the broiler and called me to look at it, I couldn’t help but smile and reach for my phone to take a photo (hence the photo quality). The trout was staring right at us with his milky white eyes, fishy-lips parted, imploring us, “Why?! Why did you splay me open and subject me first to a torrential downpour of ground black pepper and then proceed to broil my delicate white flesh beneath those merciless coils?” But we didn’t feel too sorry for this trout. Or his three trout brothers.

Silly fish faces aside, trout makes a wonderful meal. In this June 2009 post I wrote about how we like to grill trout with a little olive oil and black pepper. Since then we’ve also tried pan-frying trout and broiling it. All our trout cooking techniques must be attributed to the fishmonger at our local Whole Foods. Every time we order trout he stops what he is doing, looks us in the eye and says, “You know a real nice way to prepare trout is to…” We smile and nod, remembering that last time he told us the exact same thing: how great it is to grill trout because you didn’t have to turn it and that it is wonderful stuffed with scallops and wrapped in bacon (“It’s got a cavity, right? So you might as well use it and stuff it with scallops. Wrap it in bacon–like you’re wrapping it with string–and when the bacon flavor goes in the trout it’s real nice…”). I guess it doesn’t hurt to hear one more time how a man who knows his fish likes to eat it.

In closing, I’d like to say this: don’t be offput by trout because when you buy it comes with the head attached, eyeballs in place, those fishy-lips. Give trout a chance and maybe, just maybe, your trout will have something interesting to say to you.

Grilled Trout

Fish can be very difficult to grill: it can stick to the grill and often flakes or falls apart when you try to flip it. When Sam and I were looking at the seafood case in Whole Foods a couple weeks ago, Sam was eying the trout, but we weren’t sure if it would be tricky to grill. The fishmonger, though, cleared any doubts we had about grilling trout. He assured us that trout was in fact a really easy fish to grill, especially whole, butterflied trout.

Here’s what we did:

1. Heat the grill and clean the grill racks really well. Fish sticks to the grill because it touches food residue from previous cookings. If you clean the racks, the fish will not stick.

2. Drizzle the flesh side of the butterflied trout with olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Place trout on grill, flesh side down. Grill for 8-10 minutes until fish is done. Don’t open the grill or peek under the trout more than necessary or you will disturb its cooking.

4. Serve with a lemon wedge. Grilled asparagus and green salad make wonderful accompaniments.

Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Fresh Herbs and Lemon

If you are looking for a delicious dinner that takes little time to prepare and uses fresh ingredients, this recipe is for you. Unlike many white fishes, Chilean Sea Bass has a firm, meaty texture, which is very satisfying. Serve with grilled asparagus and red bell peppers, mashed potatoes and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) pieces sea bass fillet with skin (1 inch thick)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2/3 cup loosely packed mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill and chives, chopped

Preparation

Using tweezers or needle-nose pliers, remove any bones from sea bass. Pat fillets dry. With a sharp knife, cut parallel slashes just through skin of each fillet in four places. Cut each fillet diagonally in half and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add fish skin side down and sear until skin is golden, about 3 minutes. Turn fish over and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to four plates.

Add wine to skillet and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, herbs, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until butter is incorporated. Spoon sauce over fish.

from The Gourmet Cookbook.

Grilled Tuna with Herbed Aioli

If you’re not feeling up for tackling yesterday’s osso buco recipe, here is a much simpler and equally delicious recipe: grilled tuna with herbed aioli. For medium-rare tuna, you only need to grill it two minutes a side. The herb- and garlic-rich aioli is a refreshing complement to the tender tuna. 

Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
 
4 7-ounce tuna steaks (each about 1 inch thick)

Method
Whisk first 6 ingredients in 11×7x2-inch glass baking dish for marinade. Place mayonnaise in small bowl. Whisk in 1½ tablespoons marinade to make aioli. Set aioli aside.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Place fish in marinade in dish, turning to coat. Let marinate 1 hour at room temperature, turning fish occasionally.  

Oil grill rack. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill fish to desired doneness, about 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Top fish with aioli. Serves four. 

 
From The Bon Appetit Fast Fresh Easy Cookbook (p323).

Lobster Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing

During Thanksgiving week we took a break from all the Turkey and stuffing (though not completely!) and ventured into the world of live seafood. One evening Sam brought over two clawing lobsters, which were destined to end up on our salad plates. We compared many lobster salad recipes at epicurious.com and decided on this one, which has an Asian flair. Cooking the live lobster was surprisingly simple: drop it into a pot of boiling water, let it boil for 4 minutes, then plunge it into an ice bath. It took more time to muster the courage to put the live lobster into the pot than to actually cook it. After just four minutes, the lobster turned bright red—it was cooked. With various kitchen tools including a nutcracker, Sam set to work releasing the tender white flesh from its rigid red shell. 15 minutes later, the lobster was ready to be added to the salad. In the meantime, I had made a dressing, grilled Shiitake mushroom caps and fried slices of garlic. We assembled the ingredients on a platter and voila! our fabulous lobster salad was ready for the dinner table. A lively kick from the spicy lemon dressing, a crunch from the garlic chips and a deep, full-bodied flavor from the grilled Shiitakes were brilliant complements to the bright, clean lobster. Instead of gawking at the live lobsters in the tank at the market, go ahead and take one home. You just might become a fan of this lobster salad.   

Serves 4 as an entree. 

For Spicy Lemon Dressing

1/4 cup (50 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon finely grated garlic

1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, passed through a sieve

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

a little freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil

For Lobster Salad

1 fresh lobster

sea salt

vegetable oil for deep-frying

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

3 ounces (80 g) assorted salad greens (i.e., mizuna , rocket leaves, baby spinach, mustard greens, lollo rosso lettuce, tomyo pea sprouts, Swiss chard)

1/4 cup (50 ml) spicy lemon dressing

Preparation

Make dressing:

Combine all the ingredients except the oil. When the salt is fully dissolved, add oil.

Prepare salad:

1. Have ready a large saucepan of boiling water (enough to cover the lobster) and a bowl of iced water. Add a pinch of sea salt to the boiling water and scald the lobster over high heat for 4 minutes. Plunge the lobster into the iced water, then remove the meat from the shell. Cut into bite-size pieces.

2. Bring about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of oil in a small saucepan to 320°F (160°C). Deep-fry the garlic slices until crisp.

3. Brush mushroom caps with grapeseed oil and lightly grill.

4. Arrange the salad greens, mushrooms, and lobster on a serving dish. Pour the Spicy Lemon Dressing over all and garnish with the garlic chips.

Recipe from Epicurious.com.