Cranberry Flax and Rosemary Crusted Steelhead
This meal features simple, fresh, in-season ingredients that when, combined in an elegant, almost magical manner, make each bite a Northwest Flavor experience that will leave your palate very pleased and your guests satisfied, impressed, and smiling for days....
When Mike and I first moved to Oregon, we had dinner in a lovely little local new world Italian restaurant, Pasta Piatti (which is now one of our favorites!) the night before his first day at his new job. I was intrigued by "Plank Grilled Steelhead". I had absolutely no idea what Steelhead was. I thought maybe it was a cut of beef, or a tough, silvery vegetable I'd never heard of.....looking back now I realized how brightly my "I'm not from the Northwest at all, I'm a total Oregon newbie!" sign over my head was flashing when I asked the waitress what this delicious, mysterious sounding delicacy was that was grilled with a lemon glaze and served with Klamath fingerling potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts, YUM!.
How could I have predicted that only 3 months later, when my parents came to visit, my dad would go fishing with a local guide, David Georgeson, on the Rogue River, and catch two beautiful, 26" Steelhead Trout, which we prepared that evening using a fabulous Asian marinade recipe David so kindly shared with us.
This recipe is one that I used to prepare Salmon, but once I married Mike, I stopped cooking it often since he wasn't a big fan....until.....we moved to Oregon and he had his first, freshly caught Steelhead from our local waters. Oh yeah. I came up with this recipe thinking it would make a great holiday main dish during the winter months, when Ocean-Maturing Steelhead are running our northwest waterways, after we go running in the woods.....happiness.
There are multiple reasons to choose Steelhead over Salmon if you have the choice (nothing against the traditional, healthy, pink favorite fish of most foodies, just providing some information here....)
Its less expensive (up to $4/lb cheaper!)
Ingredients for Cranberry and Flax Crusted Steelhead Fillets
Serves 6
2 1/2 lbs of Steelhead Fillet
Juice of two freshly squeezed lemons
2/3 cup of dried cranberries (or cherries) diced as much as possible with you and your best knife. Try to find ones sweetened with juice, not extra sugar.
4 Scallions (Green Onions), finely diced.
2/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs or Panko.
1/2 cup of ground flax or ground pecans.
4 tablespoons of fat-free mayonnaise. I use Grapeseed Vegenaise ( I actually prefer the creamy smooth texture to mayonnaise).
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary or thyme leaves, chopped, or 2 teaspoons of ground dried herb.
1/4 teaspoon (more if you like a little more "kick") of Red Pepper Flakes
Freshly ground sea salt to taste ( I use about 10 heavy turns on my grinder)
Zest from two lemons.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place the fish on a foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Combine cranberries, scallions, mayonnaise, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and lemon zest in a bowl, mixing well with a fork until the the mixture is moist and slightly clumpy.
4. Place the dried fruit mixture on top of the salmon and press together with your clean fingers, covering the entire top surface of each fillet. It should look like this: -------------->
5. Bake until fish is flaky for 20 minutes, then check and if fish is flaky, lighter pink ,and moist it is done, if its still a little too bright pink and shiny cook for about 5 more minutes (baking time needed will vary depending on thickness of fillets).
Thats it. Its really too easy. And its so pretty to look at when its done, you almost don't want to eat it. Just kidding, I want to devour it, but slowly over a glass of tempranillo with good company. You should definitely try the tempranillo from one of my favorite Applegate wineries, Valley View , where my friend Sarah, who is also a runner, is the tasting room manager. She is brilliant, go check it out.
Cranberry Flax and Rosemary Crusted Steelhead
When Mike and I first moved to Oregon, we had dinner in a lovely little local new world Italian restaurant, Pasta Piatti (which is now one of our favorites!) the night before his first day at his new job. I was intrigued by "Plank Grilled Steelhead". I had absolutely no idea what Steelhead was. I thought maybe it was a cut of beef, or a tough, silvery vegetable I'd never heard of.....looking back now I realized how brightly my "I'm not from the Northwest at all, I'm a total Oregon newbie!" sign over my head was flashing when I asked the waitress what this delicious, mysterious sounding delicacy was that was grilled with a lemon glaze and served with Klamath fingerling potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts, YUM!.
How could I have predicted that only 3 months later, when my parents came to visit, my dad would go fishing with a local guide, David Georgeson, on the Rogue River, and catch two beautiful, 26" Steelhead Trout, which we prepared that evening using a fabulous Asian marinade recipe David so kindly shared with us.
This recipe is one that I used to prepare Salmon, but once I married Mike, I stopped cooking it often since he wasn't a big fan....until.....we moved to Oregon and he had his first, freshly caught Steelhead from our local waters. Oh yeah. I came up with this recipe thinking it would make a great holiday main dish during the winter months, when Ocean-Maturing Steelhead are running our northwest waterways, after we go running in the woods.....happiness.
There are multiple reasons to choose Steelhead over Salmon if you have the choice (nothing against the traditional, healthy, pink favorite fish of most foodies, just providing some information here....)
 | ||
| A type of Rainbow Trout, Steelhead is on the “Best Choices” list of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch which monitors world fish populations for over-fishing. |
Its more sustainable.
You can cook it for your friends and family members that love Salmon, and they won't ever know the difference! It still has all the health benefits, namely the high amount of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, which are good for your heart, your joints, and your mood!
This recipe packs a major punch of Omega-3s, due to the fish but also the Flaxseed!
Ingredients for Cranberry and Flax Crusted Steelhead Fillets
Serves 6
2 1/2 lbs of Steelhead Fillet
Juice of two freshly squeezed lemons2/3 cup of dried cranberries (or cherries) diced as much as possible with you and your best knife. Try to find ones sweetened with juice, not extra sugar.
4 Scallions (Green Onions), finely diced.
2/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs or Panko.
1/2 cup of ground flax or ground pecans.
4 tablespoons of fat-free mayonnaise. I use Grapeseed Vegenaise ( I actually prefer the creamy smooth texture to mayonnaise). 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary or thyme leaves, chopped, or 2 teaspoons of ground dried herb.
1/4 teaspoon (more if you like a little more "kick") of Red Pepper Flakes
Freshly ground sea salt to taste ( I use about 10 heavy turns on my grinder)
Zest from two lemons.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place the fish on a foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Combine cranberries, scallions, mayonnaise, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and lemon zest in a bowl, mixing well with a fork until the the mixture is moist and slightly clumpy.
5. Bake until fish is flaky for 20 minutes, then check and if fish is flaky, lighter pink ,and moist it is done, if its still a little too bright pink and shiny cook for about 5 more minutes (baking time needed will vary depending on thickness of fillets).
Thats it. Its really too easy. And its so pretty to look at when its done, you almost don't want to eat it. Just kidding, I want to devour it, but slowly over a glass of tempranillo with good company. You should definitely try the tempranillo from one of my favorite Applegate wineries, Valley View , where my friend Sarah, who is also a runner, is the tasting room manager. She is brilliant, go check it out.
Coming up next, the side dishes for this meal:
Gluten Free Pumpkin Corn Bread Muffins
Wild Mushroom Hazelnut and Endive Salad
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