Smoked trout toast with marinated cucumbers

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Sometimes I get up early on the weekends. I pour myself a cup of fresh hot coffee and I sit and gaze through the open kitchen window. I feel the breeze coming and messing up with my hair and I hear the chirping of the sparrows on the nearby tree. I love my slow weekend mornings when I see the people and their dogs on their morning walk. The dogs eagerly run away ahead of their owners, stretching the leashes and sniffing every tree and bush on their way. From time to time they look back at their owners with their tails wiggling with happiness, just as my happiness is quietly wiggling inside me on this sleepy summer morning. I am happy – for yet another great summer day.

Those are the days when I let everything happen on its own. I have no plans. I have no ideas. I can only sense that there is a great day ahead of me. 

I head to the farmers market and wonder around the produce tables for time unknown. I have no plan. I have no idea what to cook, but I am in the mood for something delicious. These are the times when I allow the vibrant colors, shapes and people to soak me in, to inspire me into my next kitchen adventure.

Today was one of these days when I wandered around each display table and touched and smelled everything that grabbed my attention. There were rows of boxes with giant tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, colorful zucchinis, fresh herbs and fragrant flowers. Then my attention was grabbed by a cooler filled with fresh and smoked lake trout. I don’t know what attracted me so much. Maybe it was the different display or the visual break in the sea of vegetables. The trout looked so fresh and silvery shiny. I talked to the seller and he told me that the fish was caught in Lake Superior and smoked on Wednesday – just 3 days ago. I had to buy it and taste it. You know me, I love fish! 

As I walked back through the produce rows with the bag of smoked trout, I had an idea. Why don’t I grab some small cucumbers, red onions and fresh dill and why don’t I make a fresh pickled salad to top the trout with – ah, on a crunchy toast. Why not indeed?!

Back into my kitchen, I had a piece of smoked trout. It was the most delicious smoked fish I had ever had. It was buttery and flaky with a slight natural wood smoky flavor and just the perfect amount of salt. I could barely restrain myself from eating the whole fish. I marinated the thinly sliced cucumbers and onions by placing them in a bowl of white vinegar, salt and mustard seeds. I also made a tangy mixture of sour cream, capers, lime juice and zest to round up the flavors. Then I piled everything on a thick crusted rustic bread toast. It was a match made in heaven – especially with a glass of white wine.

As I took a bite of the mound of happiness I thought to myself – what a prefect day!

Ciao my dear friends! Thanks for reading and see you soon.

Smoked Trout Toast with Marinated Cucumbers

Ingredients:

Makes 4 big toasts

• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 5 medium cornichons (or 1 seedless cucumber), thinly sliced (tip: a vegetable peeler is great for the job)
• 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
• 1 small container (8 oz.) full fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons capers, chopped
• 1/2 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 whole smoked trout, flaked and small bones removed
• 4 bread slices of large thick crusted loaf
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh dill

Directions:

1. Make the marinated cucumbers salad by placing the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

2. Make the sour cream sauce by mixing the sour cream, chopped capers, lime juice and zest in a medium bowl. Lightly season with salt and pepper (the smoked trout contains a good amount of salt).

3. Toast the bread slices by popping them into the toaster.

4. Spread each toast with 1/4 cup of the sour cream sauce, then top with 1/4 of the smoked trout flakes. Finish by adding your desirable amount of marinated onions and cucumbers and top with a sprig of fresh dill.

Enjoy right away.

Trout with citrus vinaigrette and chorizo kale

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I have always wanted a cast iron skillet and I finally got one for Christmas. I have been making very simple dishes in it, so that I can get the hang of the skillet, but also because I have a very small and temperamental stove and I never know in what kind of a mood it is going to be when I decide to cook something more elaborate.

After about a month I felt like both the skillet and I were ready to venture out of the eggs and the side dishes. I have been a big fan of Bon Appetit Magazine, I get every issue in my mail box, and I admire the passion and the dedication of the group of people who put each issue together. I went through the pile of issues that I had collected and I picked 2 recipes with which I wanted to test my cast iron skillet.

The most amazing thing about cast iron skillets is that they heat evenly, they retain heat very well and you get the tasty brown flavorful bits when deglazing the pan. For that reason I picked a recipe for a pan seared fish with warm orange/citrus vinaigrette (which I modified a bit by switching the black bass for a whole trout and added Meyer lemons to the vinaigrette). This recipe and the skillet allowed me to cook the whole fish evenly and to collect the tasty pieces left in the pan by deglazing it with the vinaigrette.

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet that is totally fine. Just use a non-sticking pan.

NOTE: Do not get afraid - you will probably set the fire alarm off several times while cooking the fish, but it is totally worth it.

Trout with citrus vinaigrette and chorizo kale

Serves 2

Modified recipes from Bon Appetit Magazine,
published in Oct. 2012 and Feb. 2014

Ingredients:

For the trout and the vinaigrette:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole trout, cleaned and spine removed
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup of Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• oranges, juiced
• 1 Meyer lemon, juiced
• 3-4 sprigs of thyme
• Coarsely ground salt and pepper

For the kale and chorizo:
• 2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 oz. cured Spanish chorizo, casing removed and sliced into thin rounds
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• bunch kale (e.g. dragon kale), center ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped 
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2  cup water
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until lightly rendered (but not crisp) and the oil turns bright red, about 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place on a plate. Add shallots in the same pan (keeping the oil from the chorizo). Cook stirring occasionally until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add kale and cook until it begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add back the chorizo and pour in the wine and the water. Cover partially and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until the kale is tender, 15–20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, season the trout with salt and pepper on the inside and outside. Place the sprigs of thyme inside the cavity of the fish. Heat the remaining oil in a large cast iron or a non-stick skillet over high heat. Lower the heat to medium-high, place the fish and cook for about 5 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Turn the fish and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and olives to the skillet. Cook for about a minute. Add the orange and lemon juice and swirl to deglaze. Cook for another minute while spooning some of the warm vinaigrette over the fish.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the thyme. To remove the fillets, run a sharp knife along the spine of the fish. Using a spatula, remove the first fillet and place on a plate. Flip the fish and remove the second fillet. Place each fillet on a plate and spoon the warm vinaigrette over each one. Serve with a side of kale with chorizo.

Bon appetit!

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How to filet a cooked fish
If your local fish market does not remove the spine of the fish for you prior to cooking it, you can do it after it is cooked. The cooked meat makes the removing of the spine and the small bones (and trout has a lot of them) very easy. 

See the images and steps below.

These 2 images are courtesy of Bon Appeit Magazine:

Run a sharp knife along the head, spine and tail of the fish to carve out the first fillet.

Remove the fillet to expose the spine. Pick the spine with your fingers and lift it off the meat. Discard the spine/bones and remove the tail and the head.