Just here to cook

That most loathed of all questions: What’s for dinner? It sends stress shudders down the spines of even the bravest cooks and is followed by a lengthy, often frantic, list of “what do you feel likes” and “we coulds”. We could do a salad, or soup, or burgers, or what do you feel like today?

Enter the hero: staple pantry items! In our case, we always have rice and quinoa because Eric can’t eat gluten and they’ll keep in the cupboard for ages. This time of year, Spring, I always try to keep mushrooms and greens stocked in the fridge- they’re like a magical combo that are quick to cook, add mega freshness and umami to the dish, and give us a much-needed boost of Vitamins K, A, C, D, and some B.

This dish comes together in about a half hour or less and the fish can easily be substituted for whatever protein your desire. Indeed, the spinach and mushrooms can also be subbed for whatever you have on hand: chard, kale, herbs, radicchio, cabbage, winter squash like delicata or butternut, summer squash like zucchini, shredded carrots, etc… That’s the beauty of it!

To make it:

Cook the Rice and Quinoa separately, per their package instructions (and if you’re at high altitude, be sure to increase your hydration by roughly 15%. 1 3/4 c water to 1 c rice becomes 1 3/4 c + 1/8 c water).

To cook the Veg (whilst the rice and quinoa are cooking). :

• Over medium high heat, preheat a skillet large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a relatively even layer (they will shrink down quite a bit, so they can be piled up):

• Wash and slice 1 pack Shiitake to bite-sized pieces
• Pull apart 1 pack Maitake mushrooms (1 pack or roughly 2 c)
• Generously oil the bottom of the skillet and then immediately add your mushrooms along with a few sprinkles of salt (the salt will begin to release the water). I use olive oil but use whatever you have on hand.
• Gently shake the skillet to get the mushrooms to settle in an even-ish layer and then LET THEM ALONE. ***Any time you’re browning something, it’s very important to leave it alone for at least a half minute or longer so it really has a chance to get the benefit of the surface heat contact.***
• Once you see that the mushrooms are starting to wilt and soften a bit, OR if it seems like they might burn, THEN you can flip and stir them about. IF there’s any smoke or the crackling sound in the skillet becomes super fast like pop rocks, then that’s the mushrooms telling you to add some more oil or butter and turn down the heat a bit.
• Once the mushrooms are browned to your liking and taste like little umami bombs of salty savoriness, remove them from the pan and set them aside
• Add some more oil to the same skillet to just coast the bottom, if necessary. The skillet should still be hot over medium or medium high heat
• Immediately add the washed spinach (which you would have washed while your mushrooms were cooking) and a few pinches of salt
• Stir it around the pan until it just begins to wilt and turn a bright Ninja Turtle green, which will happen quickly in less than a minute or so. Turn off the heat, but keep the spinach in the skillet and set it to the side.
• You can add the mushrooms back into the skillet at this point
• Once the rice and quinoa are cooked, they will be mixed together with the veg. If the skillet is large enough, you can do it directly in there to save on dishwashing!

Great, so you’re about 15 minutes into making dinner and your grains are cooking, your veg is done, and now it’s time to cook the fish. NOTE: If you’re cooking chicken or something that takes longer than 10-15 minutes to cook, start that before making the veg.

• Get a skillet that will be large enough to hold the fish filet(s), but not so large that there’s a bunch of empty space after the fish goes in (it will cause burning).
• Heat the skillet to medium high
• Hold the skin-on filet(s) and be sure it’s scaled; as in no scales. (I used a single 1.25 # filet of Steelhead Trout), pat it dry with a paper towel, then coat it all over in olive oil. DO NOT oil the pan– it will burn and splatter. ***When cooking over high heat, always oil the thing going into the pan, NOT the pan itself!
• Place the filet(s) SKIN-SIDE-DOWN in the skillet and leave it alone until it releases easily from the bottom. (If the surface is wet with water, it will stick no matter what).
• Sprinkle a few pinches of salt on the surface of the fish, along with a few pads of butter over the top of the filet(s).
• Turn the heat down to medium
• Now, watch the side of the filet. You will see the color slowly change from the raw trout orangey-pink to a cooked pale pink color. Once you see that line reach 3/4 of the way up the side of the filet(s), begin to butter baste.
• ***To butter baste, use the butter that’s melted off the top of the fish, or push it off with your spoon. Slightly tilt the skillet toward you, so there’s a pool of butter that you can scoop and toss. Using a large table spoon- preferably one with a bit of a pointed end, scoop the butter up from the pool and toss it gently over the surface of the filet(s) and continue for about 3-5 minutes. You are bathing those babies in melted butter. The butter will get foamy and begin to brown as you proceed and that’s exactly what you want, my friend! Once the surface of the filet(s) is pale pink and it looks cooked, turn off the heat
• The filet should be firm and mostly cooked through, but slightly under-cooked just in the middle.
• Immediately, using a fish spatula, or whatever spatula you have, gently peel the fish away from bottom of the skillet and flip it. This gives a little kiss of sear to the top side of the filet.
• IF the skin has stuck to the bottom (which can happen in spite of your best efforts) do your best to remove it and set it aside. IF it’s still attached to the filet, you can gently peel it off or leave it put- whatever you want.
• To make the crispies, simply sprinkle some salt and chili over the removed crispy skin and roughly chop it.

Service, Please!

• Taste everything and make sure you like it. If you don’t, nobody else will! Taste for salt, acid, unctuousness (fat), freshness, texture (soft crunchy, etc..). Keep a lemon or mild vinegar (not distilled!) on hand so you can always sprinkle a bit over the top just before service for some brightness.
• To serve this dish, scoop the rice/quinoa/spinach/mushroom concoction onto a plate, place some trout on top, squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the fish, and top with a scattering of the crispies. And that’s it!

Enjoy and remember, this makes excellent left-overs for tomorrow’s lunch as is, or tomorrow’s dinner as a fried rice with some egg and more greens or other veg added !