Rainbow Trout with Peppers & Onions
Rare are the foods that are delicately delicious on their own yet have enough oomph to stand up and be noticed amidst other ingredients. Trout is one of those — it can grab center stage, support another star, or be the almost-unnoticed extra whose presence is crucial to the plot.
For this dish, I baked a filet of rainbow trout — about 1/2 pound — in my toaster oven for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F. (Depending on the thickness of your filet, it may take up to 15 minutes, but trout is usually a slender fish. It’s best to do the fork-flake test after 10 minutes to make sure you’re not about to overcook and thereby dry out your dinner.)
The “rainbow” topping of herbed peppers, carrot, and onion was as easy as lifting the veggies out of a vegetable soup I’d made the day before. If you don’t have any handy leftover soup with chunky veggies in it, however –and those veggies could be beans, tomatoes, hearty greens, anything you can lift out with a fork or slotted spoon — you can make a quick batch by simmering or sautéeing your choice of veggies and/or legumes.
Quick Veggie Simmer or Stir-Fry
Slice/chop veggies of your choice into bite-size pieces and mince a clove or two or garlic. Simmer the veggies and garlic in enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover them for about 20 minutes OR sautée veggies in some butter over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow veggies to soften, adding garlic in the final 5 minutes to prevent it from burning.
Whichever method you choose, add fresh or dried herbs about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time to preserve the aroma and flavor of the herbs. Dill works particularly well with fish; so does basil. If you have fresh cilantro or parsley, chop up a few sprigs and stir them in at the literal last minute.
Carefully place a spoonful or two of the mixed cooked veggies atop the fillet and serve. A wedge of lemon, lime, or orange would be a tasty and attractive garnish.
Enjoy!
Print This Post
Tags: fish, quick dinner, trout, vegetables
