Trout and Leeks

When I went to my local fish market yesterday the least expensive thing they had next to cod was trout filets. I picked up a pound and wondered how I would make this typically bland protein sing. Over the next 24 hours I hit on a plan: I would season the filets, bake them in foil and serve them over leeks, parsnips and a fancy rice blend.

The rice was a no brainer--we just followed the directions on the package and proceeded with the rest of the meal.

The key to the whole dish was the leeks and parsnips and Nina took the lead on this part of the dish. The first step was to slice both very thinly. Then she sauteed the parsnips in a healthy dose of oil until they started to turn transparent. At that point she added the leeks and allowed the mixture to sautee until the parsnips were well carmelized and were sticking to the bottom of the cast iron frying pan. Once the leeks were also transparent she removed the mixture from the heat and kept it on warm.

In the meantime Nina grated two tablespoons of ginger and sliced a lemon into thin slices. She then took the filets and placed about a tablespoon of thin butter slices on them, spread the ginger over them, and placed two lemon slices on each. She then wrapped the filets in foil and pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven was hot she baked the fish for about 20 minutes.

We plated the meal by first laying down a bed of rice, then a layer of leeks and parsnips, and finally the fish on top. It was a bit tricky to get the filets on there in one piece, but with two spatulas we managed.