It only takes a little

Last night was one of those nights where I started off without having any idea whatsoever about what I wanted to make for dinner.  All day long at work I was trying to come up with something I wanted to do for dinner and essentially was drawing a complete blank.  By the time I got to the grocery store on the way home it was already starting to run late so I resorted to one of my fallbacks (when in doubt, trout) and figured I’d improvise when putting everything together.

What emerged from the kitchen about 40 minutes later was a really good and really healthy meal – full of bright flavors and textures.  All of it was very basic, but little touches on each turned the whole thing into something special.

I had some Israeli couscous I could use so I got that on the stove as soon as I got in the kitchen.  Actually, Israeli couscous isn’t really couscous – it’s a pasta.  It is made of flour and water and extruded into little ball shapes and then toasted.  The Hebrew name is ptitim and it’s known in the U.S. as either Israeli or pearl couscous.  It’s cooked the same way as rice so I needed to get it going so it could sit for 20 minutes or so.

While the “couscous” was cooking, I trimmed a bunch of green beans and got them ready for steaming.  We always have green beans on hand, because they are one of the favorite foods of our two parrots.  Nearly every night while I’m preparing dinner, I heat up a handful of green beans for the birds for their supper.  I don’t make them for us very often, though, but didn’t think of many other available options so I trimmed the ends, tossed them in a covered skillet with 1/3 cup of water and pan-steamed them.

For the trout, I seasoned both sides and then floured them.  Pan frying floured trout (trout a la meunière) is my favorite way to cook this fish, but while prepping the trout, inspiration struck.  I put the trout aside and got some capers, olive bruschetta paste, butter, and preserved lemons from the fridge. One of my favorite dishes is veal piccata – thinly sliced breaded veal pan fried and covered with a lemony butter sauce.  Why not do the same thing with the trout?  As I was slicing up the preserved lemon, I decided to use this briny/lemony flavor profile everywhere in tonight’s meal.

That’s how a couple of tablespoons of the olive bruschetta paste and a bunch of capers found their way into the “couscous.”  I made sure that some of the caper brine made the journey as well and these flavors really added a new dimension to the dish.

As for the green beans, I stopped steaming them before they were fully cooked, and then tossed them with some bread crumbs, salty grated cheese, and some preserved lemon rind.  Then, I popped them in the oven for about two minutes to finish cooking, melt the cheese, and toast the bread crumbs. This is an incredibly easy way to jazz up some green beans and not only do the flavors of the lemon and the cheese pop, the textures of the just barely cooked green beans and the breadcrumbs are delightful.

The trout was just about as easy and quick.  I used to be quite skittish about really high temperatures ever since the day the Fire Department had to visit while I was preparing some quail for an Easter dinner party (I’ll tell you that story one day).  I’ve largely overcome that fear, mostly because I’ve come to learn the that with very thin proteins like trout that very high heat for a very short period of time works best.  So I’ve got my cast-iron skillet almost all the way up to high and I splash in about a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil.  The oil starts shimmering right away, but if I add the fish right away, the difference in temperatures of the fish and the hot oil keeps the oil from smoking.  Two minutes on the skin side, one minute on the other side and that’s all you need for a crispy skinned, light browned piece of delicious trout.

Remove the fish to a platter and cover with a clean dish towel.  Turn the skillet to low (it will retain its heat for a while, but you don’t want to add more) and add a couple of tablespoons of butter, some white wine, lemon juice, capers, and preserved lemon.  Stir constantly until the butter turns brown and the liquids begin to thicken and then pour over the fish and serve. All of the elements worked well together, with the brightness of the lemon pulling the trout and green beans together while the saltiness of the capers linked the couscous and the trout.

Since my primary style of cooking draws heavily on French and Mediterranean cuisine, all of these ingredients are nearly always in my pantry and readily available.  Three basic ingredients – trout, green beans, and couscous – transformed into something that was really delicious.

Recipe – Trout piccata

Ingredients

2 trout filets butterflied

salt, pepper, and flour

vegetable oil

2 tbl butter

1 tbl white wine

1 tbl lemon

1 tbl capers

1 tbl sliced preserved lemon skin

Directions

Dry the trout with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.  Lightly coat with flour (the covering should be thorough but shake the fish gently to remove any excess) and then repeat on the other side.

Heat a skillet to high/medium-high and then swirl a small amount of vegetable oil to coat.  Immediately add the fish skin side down.  Cook for two minutes, flip and cook for one minute more.  Remove to a platter, cover with a clean dishtowel, and repeat for the other piece of fish.

Reduce the heat to low and add the butter, wine, and lemon juice.  Stir constantly until the butter melts, then add the capers and preserved lemon.  Keep stirring until the butter turns brown and the sauce thickens.  Pour over the trout and serve.

Recipe – green beans with breadcrumbs and cheese

Ingredients

Green beans, rinsed and trimmed

Breadcrumbs (commercial breadcrumbs are fine – if available, get them flavored with Italian herbs)

Grated cheese

Sliced preserved lemon skin

Directions

Put the green beans in a covered skillet with 1/3 cup of water and turn the stove to high.  After five minutes or so, check frequently to monitor the water level.  When the water is gone, remove the skillet from the heat.  Sprinkle the green beans with as much breadcrumbs and cheese as you like, but toss thoroughly.  Put the skillet in an over pre-heated to 350° for 2-3 minutes.  Plate, garnish with the preserved lemon, and serve.

Recipe – Israeli couscous with olives and capers

Ingredients

1/2 cup Israeli (pearl) couscous

2 tbl olive bruschetta paste (homemade or from a store)

1 tbl capers, with a little brine

Directions

Add the couscous to a small sauce pan with 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat to low.  Let sit for 20 minutes and then remove from heat.  Just before serving, fluff with a fork or spoon and then thoroughly mix the olives and capers.  Plate and serve.