Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [216]
Pat the fillets dry with paper towels, then smear the mustard over the flesh of each fillet.
Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the canola oil. Dip the fillets into the bread-crumb mixture mustard side down, patting to make sure the coating adheres evenly. Slip them into the pan mustard side up (that is, skin side down). Cook for 1 minute.
Slide the skillet into the oven and cook until the crust is brown and the flesh underneath the crust flakes when gently scraped with a fork at its thinnest part, about 12 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before transferring to serving plates.
Variation: Use any kind of mustard you prefer: coarse-grained, stone-ground, or even a flavored mustard (if you use the latter, omit the thyme from the bread-crumb mixture).
Bacon-Wrapped Trout Fillets Sandwiched with Spinach
The bacon strips will hold these trout fillets and their spinach filling together. Makes 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces spinach, stemmed (if necessary), washed, and chopped (the water still adhering to the leaves)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1½ tablespoons plain dried bread crumbs
Four 6-to 8-ounce trout fillets
16 slices (about 12 ounces) thin-cut pork bacon, turkey bacon, or soy bacon
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Place the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet, then set the pan over low heat. Heat the oil slowly, stirring often, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.
Raise the heat to medium, count slowly to five, and add the spinach. Toss well, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until wilted, tossing once or twice, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Blot the fillets dry with paper towels, then cut each in half the short way. Lay 8 fillet halves skin side down on your work surface, then top each with a quarter of the stuffing (about 2 heaping tablespoons). Lay the other half of each fillet on top skin side up, thereby creating a trout sandwich.
Wrap 2 strips of bacon around each little sandwich, winding the strips around the short way so as to seal the sandwich closed, overlapping the strips as need be.
Set a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the trout fillets with the bacon seams down. Brown the bacon on one side, turn the fillet sandwiches over, and brown on the other side, about 7 minutes in all.
Place the skillet in the oven and roast until the bacon is crispy and the trout flakes when picked with a fork, about 5 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Drizzle ½ teaspoon vinegar over each fillet before serving.
Variations: Substitute chard, escarole, or finely chopped kale for the spinach. (The kale will need to cook a little longer, perhaps 4 minutes or so; add a little wine or vegetable broth to the pan if it dries out.)
Stir 1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or hard, aged Gouda into the spinach after it wilts.
Add up to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes with the nutmeg.
Salmon Roast
Related to trout, wild salmon live in both salt and fresh water. Today, most of us buy farm-raised salmon; these live entirely in salt water. While more economical, they do not have the delicate taste of their wild kin. They’re also fattier, and the fat is the place where toxins are mostly found. If you are going to eat farm-raised salmon, cut off the skin and any visible fat. For this elegant, dinner-party dish, 2 salmon fillets are tied around a creamy filling. Makes 6 servings
One 2-pound king (or chinook), coho (or silver), sockeye (or red), or Atlantic salmon fillet, skinned
One of the two fillings that follow
Butcher’s twine
3 tablespoons olive oil
Position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 400°F.