Tag: Seafood

Steelhead Trout with Chanterelles

 

Early autumn is my favourite time of year. West swell begins to roll into the West Coast again, re-surging the various reef and point breaks back to life; the days are still reasonably long; amazing produce is abundant and inexpensive; and a plethora of delicious wild fungi begin to pop up in the coastal temperate rainforest, just waiting to be found by those keen enough to look. It’s an inspiring time of the year when you’re obsessed with creating food.

Trout with Chanterelle mushrooms is a classic and elegant combination. The dish could be further simplified to the point where the only additional ingredient is salt and pepper and it would still be outstanding. By adding a few finishing touches, the standout flavours are not compromised, but subtly accented. Exercise restraint when adding the ingredients, especially the butter, cream, and sherry. Cooking the trout requires some finesse as well, as the success of the dish hangs on achieving a beautiful crispy skin.

IMG_3170

After a quick and unsuccessful search of the North Shore mountains in the morning, I decided to satisfy my Chanterelle fix by stopping by the Trout Lake Farmer’s market at noon

Ingredients:

2 or 3 portions cut from the freshest Steelhead or Rainbow Trout fillet that you can find (or catch)

1 tbsp olive oil

0.5 pounds of fresh golden chanterelles

1 shallot, minced

1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves only

1 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cream

Juice of half a lemon

Dash of sherry

1 sprig of fresh dill, roughly torn

Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

  1. Season trout fillets generously, proper seasoning is essential when cooking trout. Heat a saute pan to medium heat, add olive oil, then add the trout fillets skin side down just as the oil starts to heat up. Do not wait for the pan to heat up to searing temperatures, since the skin will shrink and ruin the fillet if heated too quickly. Continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and comes away freely from the pan. If the skin is sticking, the pan is either too hot, or hasn’t crisped enough. Flip the trout and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a plate in a 180 degree F oven to hold while mushrooms cook.

    Trout with pilsner
    Searing trout with the company of some Main St Pilsner
  2. For the next steps, you’ll need to work quickly so that the trout does not sit more than a few minutes. Turn the heat on the pan up to high, and wait 30 seconds or until it reaches searing temperatures. Add the chanterelles to the hot pan, ensuring they are not crowded (otherwise they will steam and not caramelize). Allow to cook undisturbed for 2 minutes.

  3. IMG_3178
    This is about as crowded as I’ll ever cook mushrooms. Any more, and they will steam.
  4. Add the shallots, butter, and thyme to the pan then toss the ingredients together in the pan to incorporate. Cook for 1 minute, then add the lemon, cream, and sherry. Continue to swirl the pan and allow liquid ingredients to reduce for 1 minute, or until a sauce like consistency is reached. Remove from heat, then add half of dill.
  5. Spoon the mushrooms onto a warm plate, then top with the trout fillet. Garnish with the remaining half of dill leaves.

Enjoy!

Trout with Chanterelles

Mussels and Frites 

A classic dish that’s great to share on a warm summer evening on the west coast. This one was made with a spicy thai red chili coconut curry broth, which pairs perfectly with the rich mussels.

I’ve perfected fries over the years, I hate deep frying at home, so my method involves baking the fries in the oven over an extended period of time instead to achieve similar results. The most important tip is to spread them out, and cook by color! When they’re golden, they’re done!

This broth packs quite a bit of heat, so scale back the chilis as desired.

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh mussels, cleaned and de bearded

1 can coconut milk

A half cup chopped cilantro stems

1 shallot

2 garlic cloves

1 lime, zest reserved

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp madras curry powder

Good handful thai bird chilis

3 large potatoes, cut into fries

4 tbsp grape seed oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Add half the oil to a large baking dish (make sure they are well spaced) and place in the oven to preheat. After 5 min, remove from oven and toss in fries. Immediately turn down heat to 375. Let the potatoes cook for 30 minutes before checking. They won’t burn at 375.

2. Meanwhile, make the curry paste. Start by adding shallots, garlic, cilantro, coriander, curry powder, lime zest, half of the chilis, and 1 tbsp of oil to a food processor. Pulse until you get a paste. Set aside and check the potatoes.

3. Potatoes will be ready to flip if they come free from the bottom of the baking dish with a light golden brown color and minimal effort. Toss around at this point a bit, then place back in the oven to continue to develop color. Keep doing this until the potatoes develop a bit more color and a bit of crispiness. Then turn down the oven to 300 degrees F.

4. Now that the potatoes are done, start on the broth. Place a large pot on high heat, then add the remaining oil and curry paste. Let cook for about 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk, lime halves, and the remaing chilis. At this point, you can also add lemongrass stalk, extra shallots, or ginger if you have them on hand. Sadly I didn’t. Let the broth come to a boil, then add the mussels and cook for 2 minutes, or until they open.

5. Serve immediately with the fries. Discard any mussels that didn’t open.

Enjoy!