Today felt quite busy: little sleep last night then trips to Covington, Clifton, Indian Hill and three stops at Eastgate meant that a large amount of prep work was not in the cards. Invention never sleeps, so I was glad to pull something very nice together in no time flat and with very little work.
I'm increasingly fond of steelhead trout .. its texture is like salmon (probably because it is freshwater salmon) and it cooks quickly.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb steelhead, filetted, and marinated in brandy and ponzu,* with a spritz of olive cooking spray for 1/2 to 4 hours
1 scallion, chopped
salt to taste
METHOD:
cook on a hot grill for 5 minutes on the skin side
flip and grill 3 minutes more then transfer to a serving plate (the skin will be crisp when you flip it, and lifts off easily while the second side cooks)
add a bit more ponzu and garnish with the chopped scallion
What could be more simple? Or taste better?
Steelhead grilled this way is a wonderful accompaniment to asparagus - or is it the other way around? Since you have heated the grill (or the broiler) anyway, you might as well do the right thing with the grass.
I thought up a new way to serve the grilled asparagus, using less butter.
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed.**
1/4C blue cheese salad dressing
1/8C crumbled blue cheese
a little salt
olive cooking spray
METHOD:
put the asparagus on a cold grill when you start the fish and turn the heat to high
after you take the fish off the grill put the asparagus on a plate, tips pointing in
spray the asparagus lightly with the cooking spray
sprinkle a little salt on the asparagus
cover the tips with blue cheese dressing
garnish with the crumbled blue cheese
The texture and flavor are memorable, particulary when paired with the steelhead, a glass of the house white and a simple salad.
for the entire dinner:
two servings, each
290 calories
17 grams of carbohydrate
(and only fifteen minutes)
* Ponzu is a newish form of soy sauce mixed with lemon juice. If you can't find it at the store just use soy and lemon.
** I know I've said this before. I know each stalk of asparagus knows where it should break (that's training and common knowledge). I also know most stalks in a bunch will break at about the same place (experience). I typically break 2-3 stalks to find the approximate breaking point THEN cut the rest of the bunch. I have not found this to be a problem.
