[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

[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.