Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce

There are a lot of things one can do on an anniversary.

Go out to dinner. Go to a movie. Go on a fabulous trip.

Or, do what we did.

Nothing.

Nothing out of the ordinary, that is.

We lit the candles, put on some jazz and cooked a wonderful dinner together.

And took a walk with Lucy.

Why wait for a date that comes once a year when you can celebrate each other every day.

Makes perfect sense to me!

Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce
A total riff on a great fish taco recipe in Bobby Flay's Grill It

2 good sized steelhead trout fillets or salmon, seasoned with orange juice, a bit of olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper
¼ head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 green onions, green and white parts thinly sliced
¼ cup Hellmann’s mayo
½ cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 tbsp pureed canned chipotle chiles in adobo
Grated zest of 1 lime
½ lime, juiced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups orange juice
3 slices pickled jalapenos
2 tbsp honey

Put the orange juice into a medium saucepan. Add the jalapeno. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally til reduced to about half a cup. Takes about 30 minutes. Add the honey and season with salt. Let cool to room temp before serving.

Grill the trout.

Whisk together the mayo, yogurt, chipotle puree, lime zest and juice in a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add to cabbage and the green onions. Add the cilantro and fold to combine.

Put a bit of the slaw on the plate, then the grilled trout and then a drizzle of the orange sauce over the top.

Prepare to swoon a bit.

Serves 2 generously.

Grilled Steelhead Trout with Mexican Slaw and Orange Jalapeno Sauce

Grilled Steelhead Trout Vinaigrette

Want something simple for supper?

Something you don’t have to think twice about doing? Can do with your eyes closed?

It’s this. Could not be easier.

Could not taste any better.

And it’s good for you.

Eat your fish.


Grilled Steelhead Trout Vinaigrette

2 good sized pieces steelhead trout fillets, skin on
Season with a bit of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Grill for seven minutes skin side down and flip over and grill for 2 minutes.
These were fat pieces, therefore the longer grilling time.
When you bring the trout in, flip it over and pull the skin off.

Vinaigrette
3 tbsp champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons wild honey
1/2 cup fruity olive oil

Combine in a small jar and shake to combine.

When ready to serve dinner, put a serving of fresh arugula on the plate and top with the grilled trout. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette over and serve.

Serves 2.

Grilled Steelhead Trout Vinaigrette

Steelhead Trout with Braised Fennel and Sweet Red Onion

I have become a big fan of trout.

I didn’t know that it is a member of the salmon family. Makes sense when you think about it. The sweet buttery taste and the ability to adapt to lots of recipes is most definitely a characteristic of this fish. Steelhead trout starts out as a freshwater fish and moves to life in the ocean at maturity, feeding on tiny shrimp, and coming back to the freshwater after several years to “swim upstream and spawn.”

Interesting tidbit here, they can do this more than once.

I love a fish with a plan.

Perfectly Seared Steelhead Trout Fillets

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat a cast iron skillet on top of the stove. Add a good swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
Put two nice sized fillets of steelhead trout in the pan skin side down.
Cook until skin is crispy, takes about three minutes or so.
Put the pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes til trout is done.

Serves 2.

Braised Fennel with Sweet Red Onion

1 bulb fennel, sliced about ¼ inch thick julienne
½ large sweet red onion, sliced thinly
½ cup plus chicken stock
2 tsp sherry vinegar
Juice of one blood orange
2 tbsp finely diced blood orange zest
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large cast iron skillet over moderate heat and add a couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the red onion and the fennel and let them cook a good while, about ten to fifteen minutes til they are golden and caramelizing. Add the sherry vinegar, the blood orange juice and turn up the heat.

Let that cook down a bit and then add the chicken stock., turn the heat down so the mixture bubbles along, reducing as it goes and add the zest. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 2.

Steelhead Trout with Braised Fennel and Sweet Red Onion

Pan Fried Rainbow Trout Fillets with Pancetta and a Zucchini Tian

Total déjà vu.

Once again I’m standing in the kitchen with pig(pancetta) in one hand and fish (fresh rainbow trout) in the other and the pig and fish thing takes charge.

I turn around and there’s a zucchini, a potato and a couple of tomatoes and garlic cloves sitting there looking at me on the counter top.

My brain starts working and the games begin.

This turned out even better than I thought it would.

I got out my handy dandy mandolin and sliced the potatoes, tomatoes and garlic and zucchini. I stood them up in the individual gratins in layers and drizzled with olive oil, seasoned at the last with lots of freshly ground black pepper. They went into the oven for 35 minutes. In the meantime, I crisped the pancetta and removed it to a platter. The trout is floured and seasoned and cooks in the fat the pancetta released. Trout removed, Meyer lemon and capers added off the heat.

She shoots.

She scores.

Pan Fried Rainbow Trout with Zucchini Tian

Preheat oven to 400.

1 small zucchini
1 baking potato
3 small tomatoes
2 fat cloves garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Slice the zucchini, baking potato, garlic and tomatoes very thin. Put a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in baking dish ( I did these individually, but it would certainly work just fine in a 8x8 pyrex dish). Start with potatoes, and take 4-5 pieces and stand them up, the sprinkle a bit of garlic, then a couple of sliced tomatoes, then garlic, then a bit of zucchini, then garlic and repeat til you use up all the veggies. Drizzle with olive oil, season with the black pepper and run in the oven. They cook about 35 minutes.


2 rainbow trout fillets
2 ounces pancetta, diced
Extra virgin olive oil
A cup of all purpose flour seasoned well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 Meyer lemon

Heat large cast iron skillet and put a good swirl of extra virgin olive oil in the pan over moderate heat. Add pancetta and cook til crisp. Remove from pan . Dredge trout in flour mix on both sides and put in hot skillet. Cook on both sides til golden brown. Remove trout from pan and remove pan from heat.

Add capers and lemon juice and stir to combine.
Plate trout and put caper lemon sauce over and garnish with pancetta. Serve tian on the side.

Serves 2.

Pan Fried Rainbow Trout Fillets with Pancetta and a Zucchini Tian

Trout Meuniere

In an earlier post, I talked about the fact that I didn’t like fish when I was young. The recipe that changed my whole way of thinking was Sole Meuniere. Julia Child tells a story in her autobiography, My Life in France, of her first meal when she landed on French soil with her husband, Paul. They had stopped for lunch and Paul had ordered the Sole Meuniere. “It arrived whole: a large flat Dover sole that was perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top.”
What’s not to like? Six tablespoons of butter between two people. Table for two, please.

Dover sole is becoming more available now, but several years ago when I decided to step out on a limb and try the recipe, boneless rainbow trout fillets were the best option. Quickly sautéed in melted butter, removed from the pan and the butter turns a nutty brown with capers, lemon juice and chopped parsley added at the last.

“Sputtering butter sauce.” Hello. That sounds wonderful.
It is.

Trout Meuniere
Adapted from Sole Meuniere recipe by Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

2 boneless rainbow trout fillets
A pinch of salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1/3 cup flour on plate for dredging (I use all purpose whole wheat flour)
Couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs butter

Put cast iron pan over medium high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper and dredge in flour on both sides. Shake off excess. Swirl olive oil in pan and add butter. When butter foams and subsides add the fish. Sauté about five minutes till nicely browned. Turn it over and sauté for 5 minutes till golden brown. As soon as done, put on plate and cover with foil.

3 tbs butter
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

In clean medium sized pan, add butter over high heat. Watch it closely. When starting to turn brown, remove from heat and as it darkens add remaining ingredients and stir. Pour butter over trout and serve.

Serves 2 very happy people

Trout Meuniere