Roasted Trout with Lemon & Rosemary

My first (and maybe my last?) fishing pole was a Mickey Mouse fishing pole.

With a conviction to teach his daughter where food came from, my dad took me fishing when I was young. I remember catching a fish just once, but remember at least several meals while camping that my dad had caught on a hook.

In Colorado our fishing access is limited to creeks and reservoirs (there are a few lakes, but they are tiny, some would call them ponds). It seems it is always trout, though I really know nothing about fishing, so I could be wrong. But what I know is that many a meal was served to me as a kid, where a whole trout was seasoned and roasted. I struggled to learned how to separate the meat from the bones in one fell swoop, usually picking them out one by one. 

I know that seeing the whole fish is off putting to some— I don’t blame you. But to me, it’s part of the experience. It says something about that dish; makes it feel “more,” like maybe your dad caught the fish himself.

Fresh, trout can have a quite mild flavor. It’s meat is flakey and delicate, and pairs well with a spritz of lemon, a side of potatoes, and fresh herbs. 

It feels like a hallmark of summer to me: a sign that the creeks are gushing and full of life, a part of camping season, and best enjoyed with other fresh summer finds, like rosemary. 

Roasted Trout with Lemon & Rosemary

Published June 26, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 2-4   |    Active Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 whole trout, dedressed 

1 lemon, sliced

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 springs rosemary 

2 tablespoons avocado oil

3 cups diced red potatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss diced potatoes and minced garlic in olive oil. Spread out on a sheet pan, and sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Then, bake for 30 minutes, until potatoes are just starting to turn golden on the outside.
2. Meanwhile, season each fish with the remaining salt & pepper. Then, place half of the lemon slices and 1 sprig of rosemary in the cavity of each fish. If desired, tie the fish closed with twine.
3. After the potatoes have cooked for 30 minutes, push them to either side of the baking sheet to make room for the fish. Place each fish on the pan, and return pan to oven for 20 minutes, or until meat is opaque and easily flakes when pricked with a fork. Potatoes should also be tender all the way through when pricked with a fork. Serve hot.

Coconut Crusted Mahi-Mahi with Cara Cara Orange Salsa

There are days I plan dinner from the moment I wake up. The way the ingredients will feel as I chop them, the way they all come together, and the way they'll taste when finally on my fork. And then there are the days when I have no plan at all. On our drive home Oliver asks, "What’s for dinner?" and it catches me by surprise as if I didn’t know dinner was happening that day. I find this happens the most when I’m busy, the days I have the least time to day dream about recipes.

These are always the days I can’t fit a grocery run in. Instead, I focus on one ingredient that I know we have. In this case, it was frozen mahi-mahi fillets. Then, with mahi-mahi as the muse, I brainstorm recipes. Fish tacos? But we don’t have tortillas. Or salsa. Or cheese. Fish curry? When was the last time I bought coconut milk? Coconut. I have coconut, I thought as I remembered the pink bag of coconut buried with other baking supplies in the pantry.

This is how the pieces fall together. Sometimes it’s a disaster. Other times it’s happy coincidence, like it was meant to be. Like it had been planned. That’s how I first discovered this meal. A win; happy coincidence. I have since made this quite a few times—even planned on making it several times after the one happy coincidence.

The toasted coconut on the outside gives the flaky fish a crispy finish, and while you could probably use whatever fruit salsa you want, the citrus from the cara cara oranges cuts through the fish and coconut, balancing out the dish. Avocado brings it all together (like avocado so often does).

The other wonderful thing about mahi-mahi is that it cooks quite fast — just 10-12 minutes in the oven. And while the oven is doing it’s thing, you can be prepping the salsa. SO while this dinner has an “ooh, wow, pretty” effect on the eyes it’s really not going to take you much time to through together.

Coconut Crusted Mahi-Mahi with Cara Cara Orange Salsa

Published March 20, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 4 four-ounce fillets mahi-mahi (if frozen, thaw first)
• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (try cassava flour, or cup-for-cup gluten-free flour mix)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup desiccated shredded coconut
• 1 egg

For the salsa:
• 2 cara cara oranges
• 1 avocado
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set pan aside.
2. Place three bowls on the counter. In the first, whisk flour and salt. In the second, whisk egg until yellow and frothy. In the last, place the coconut.
3. Coat one fish fillet at a time: first, dip it in the flour, coating all sides. Shake off access. Now, place the fillet in the egg, coating each side in egg and then letting excess drip off. Finally, place the fish in the coconut, flipping it over to coat each side. Now, place fillet on prepared baking sheet.
4. Repeat step three until each fillet is coated. Then, bake fish for 10-12 minutes, until it is flakey and opaque (check thickest fillet with a fork).
5. While the fish cooks, prep the salsa: segment oranges (here is a good way to do that). Dice segmented oranges, and place in small mixing bowl. Dice the avocado, and add it to the bowl along with the minced jalapeño and cilantro, and the lime juice. Stir.
6. To serve: place fish on serving plates (I served over a bed of arugula, for more greens) and spoon salsa over top.

Salmon & Mango Poke Bowl

This is my new favorite thing: poke bowls. Which I know is super "trendy" of me, but have you tried them?! Finding sushi-grade fish around these parts was a feat, so perhaps they also taste a bit like a well-deserved victory to me.

I called three grocery stores, none of which said they had sushi grade fish. I went to two, one were the lady said I "could" use the tuna, but the look on her face told me not to. Another where the only sushi-grade fish they had came in an vacuum-sealed, freezer package of small (too small) fillets. 

Finally we visited the Pacific Ocean Market, which is in the next town over. The woman on the phone said they had tuna and salmon for sushi, which was promising. All faith we had in the Pacific Ocean Market dropped to rock-bottom when we actually got there though, and the un-filleted fish were unlabeled, and the guy behind the counter only spoke Chinese. He made a motion, showing us to just point at what we want. How were we (two people that have never been into fishing or lived by the sea) supposed to know what was what? Let alone which was ok for sushi? (I have since learned that none of those would've been ok for sushi, so I'm glad we didn't just point at something random).  

Another customer saw we were struggling, and tried to help (she spoke Chinese). But we were pointed over to a freezer case where some mystery white fish was wrapped up in cellophane and was probably best suited for a fish fry. 

We went to the front counter and found two ladies, who between themselves could piece together some English, but they spoke Vietnamese, not Chinese, so couldn't help with the fish situation. Finally, someone found the store manager--the lady we had originally talked to on the phone- who directed us to the right deep-freeze case of fish. (Sushi fish, in a place like Colorado where it has to be shipped and stored, should be frozen to a certain temperature and for a certain amount of time in order to kill off any parasites). 

We rustled through the unorganized case: Eel, Tuna, Shrimp, Halibut. Our confidence in the quality of the fish had dropped to rock bottom when we had been pointed to the fry-fish. 

In the end I went back to store number two, and bought several tiny packages of salmon in vacuum-sealed plastics, and a box labeled "Sushi and Sashimi." At least I could read it. 

Night one we ate sushi, but when we had one packet left the next day I jumped on the poke train. AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT! Can we all just go to Hawaii now? 🙋🏻✈️

(I spent the first week calling this "poa-kee," which confused everyone. Oliver started calling it "pokemon" just to make fun of me, and finally I looked up the pronunciation: "poa-kay"). So take note and avoid looking like a fool like me! 😉

Salmon & Mango Poke Bowl

Published September 5, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 6 ounces sushi grade salmon
• 2 cups mixed greens 
• 1/4 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup sliced cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced mango
• 1 diced bell pepper (I used 1/2 of a red and half of a green for color)
• 1/2 of an avocado, sliced
• 1 green onion, sliced 
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds 
• Pickled ginger
• Optional: 1 cup cooked rice
• Optional, for serving: wasabi, soy sauce, hot sauce such as Sriracha 

Directions:

1. Slice salmon into bite-sized pieces.
2. Arrange bowls: If you desire, place a half cup of rice at bottom of bowl. Then arrange mixed greens, shredded cabbage, sliced cucumber, diced mango, bell peppers, and sliced avocado in bowl. Divide salmon between both bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion.
3. Serve with pickled ginger and any other accoutrements of your choice: wasabi, soy sauce, Sriracha, etc.