[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

[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.