[food/drink] Steelhead trout with tomato relish and shallots

[dot_fennel]

I usually write about things I understand or think I have some insight into. However, I've been learning to cook, so for a while I will also be posting about things I barely comprehend. Please be gentle.

1 pound steelhead trout fillets
1 medium shallot
15 grape tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
dill

I diced the shallot as finely as I could with my finite patience and sauteed it. Unable to saute it evenly, most of the shallot was looking kind of burnt by the time the rest of it looked brown; still, it smelled cooked, not burnt, so I set it aside.

I coated the fish with leftover shallot oil, adding a little more olive oil underneath so it wouldn't stick to the baking sheet, sprinkled it with dill, and baked it for 15 minutes at 510 degrees.

While it baked, I chopped up the tomatoes, mushed them up a little, and added vinegar, salt and pepper. Less vinegar would have been okay. The oil around the fish began smoking partway through, which hasn't happened before when cooking fish this way-- maybe it had to do with the oil already having been cooked once? The fish wasn't burning, though, so I let it stay. As usual, it seemed to need another minute or two after the timer went off before the fish was totally done.

The dill and trout didn't go very well together; I'm not sure which of the two I would rather change next time. The tomatoes and shallots were sprinkled very sparingly over the fish and even so the flavors were almost too strong. I liked it, though. A thicker piece of fish might have avoided the requirement of carefully portioning out the toppings in each bite to avoid being overwhelmed.

Considering that it was more improvised than anything else I've ever cooked, I'm pretty happy. I think next time I'll try it with salmon, less time in the pan for shallots, less vinegar and no dill.

Comments

Yum yum!

[zogathon.livejournal.com]

Dill is very, very good with salmon, so I'd try your recipe with the dill first. Not sure about dill and balsamic vinegar together, though. Basil would probably work better?

Olive oil has a pretty low smoke-point, so that might be why you had the problem. 510 degrees is very hot. Good for a nice crust on the fish, though!

[dot_fennel]

Huh! So... I'm sure I've rubbed fish with olive oil and cooked it at 510F before without that kind of smoke. Does the smoke point only matter if there's enough of it to pool, rather than a thin layer on top of something? Or some other detail which might have been different this time?

Of the two or three ways I've tried cooking fish, this one is by far the fastest, and leaves the fish the moistest when it's cooked all the way through, so I'm a fan of it. But I also keep meaning to try other things which might be less harsh on the other stuff that's unlucky enough to be in the oven with the fish.

Anyway, thank you! You were one of the people I was hoping would have time to nudge me along the path of righteousness if I started posting about what I cooked. :)

[cutieperson]

pools of any liquid tend to smoke faster than a layer over the top. no clue why!

i'm with zogathon on 510 being a little hot; 400 is what i generally cook fish at (less for thin filets), for 14-25mins. but the general idea sounds super yummy. mmm, fish.

[veek.livejournal.com]

I'm with the above regarding salmon and dill. Lemon works very well with that combination, too. This is my favorite EasyThing to do with salmon:

- put into a deep baking dish a piece of foil large enough that you can fold over the ends and make a "pocket" out of it
- rub salmon with olive oil
- put salmon on baking sheet
- sprinkle with dill, lemon juice and a tiny bit of salt; put a pat of butter on top of the salmon (break it up into smaller pieces if the salmon piece is large), and another one underneath
- make pocket out of the foil by bringing ends together and sort of scrunching them so that the package is tightly sealed
- bake at about 425 for, 25 minutes or so
- open up, pour some of the juices back onto the salmon, cook some more. How much more depends on the thickness & size of the piece, up to 20 more minutes.

OK, now that that's out of my system, what you describe sounds like an interesting experiment. It's probably roughly what I would've done (sans vinegar), if I were experimenting with steelhead trout. I don't know it very well, though.

[narcissuskisses.livejournal.com]

That sounds really good (makes me wish I still ate fish!). I'm with the consensus: Dill with salmon is excellent. 510 is really really hot; I've never baked anything over 475 before.

[tinyankletbells.livejournal.com]

It was delicious! I think the pools of oil make sense as an explanation for the smoking.

I think 500 degrees was fine. The New Joy of Cooking actually has a recipe that boils down to baking oiled fish fillets for 15 minutes in a 500 degree oven. We make it now and then and it doesn't usually smoke. I had thought the difference was between our stoves -- electric vs. gas; sometimes fat hitting an electric element can smoke -- but the pool theory sounds more like it. So, next time: Oil the fish on a dish, then put it on the baking sheet, instead of pouring the oil onto the sheet and turning the fish in it.

Did I mention that it was delicious? :)

[dot_fennel]

Thanks. :)

That recipe in Joy Of Cooking is probably where I got the idea to cook it so hot, actually. And usually it works fine! Your idea about oiling the fish elsewhere to minimize the amount of oil that's not directly on the fish is excellent, though.

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

Steelhead trout is an excellent choice, and a favorite around our house. BTW where did you purchase said fish? The places I normally buy fish haven't been stocking Steelhead trout.

[dot_fennel]

The Shaw's in Porter Square occasionally has it; when they do, it always seems to be on sale for $5/pound.