Monday, March 09, 2009

Post-Market Monday

Last night I crossed my cooking threshold with the squash blossoms so Farmer's Market Sunday became Post-Market Monday. I bought a small bag of potatoes, a bunch of kale, and this giant piece of trout that was hardly discernible from salmon. Apparently they're in the same family.

The pork chop is organic but not from the Farmer's Market. I brined it for a few hours with apple cider vinegar, pepper flakes, salt, water, and brown sugar. Since I'm cooking for two, I try and find common complimentary ingredients for both the fish and meat so we each get what we want.

On top of the trout is a mixture of Meyer lemon, shallots, oil, salt, and pepper. You can see at the bottom of the trout how crispy the skin is. I finally got it down.


When I first started trying to cook fish with skin, it always turned into a painful mess because the skin stuck horribly to the pan and I had to scrape it while trying to keep the fish in tact. I finally learned to get your pan to a smoking point and then add in the oil. I wasn't getting my pan hot enough. And keep it on medium-high. Once I know the skin has crisped enough, I flip it and put the lid on it with just a little air escaping. I don't know if that's conventional for cooking fish but it helps keep the smoke and oil in and I find it helps keep in the moisture too without overcooking while I am plating.

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