June 11, 2012 Dinner – Red Chili Dusted Fried Trout with Calabacitas and fried calamari and tartar sauce

June 11, 2012 Dinner – Red Chili Dusted Fried Trout with Calabacitas and fried calamari and tartar sauce 

We wanted to try the trout recipe for the new menu at the Bistro again this evening. So Suzette went to the fridge and got the bag of heirloom Chimayo red chili that is orange rather than red and costs $20.00 for a half pound instead of $5.00.

She soaked the trout in milk and then dusted the trout in a bag of chili and rice flour.  I had julienned three small zucchini and ¼ medium onion and ¼ green Anaheim chili and three cloves of fresh garlic from our garden.  When that was prepared, Suzette sautéed the vegetables in a large skillet with butter and olive oil, and the trout in a skillet with canola cooking oil.

Then Suzette soaked the calamari in the milk and then dusted them in the red chili and rice flour batter.  Again the result was like lat night’s very pleasant crispy skin on the trout and a rather greasy texture to the calamari.  We loved the more intense chili flavor of the trout dusting and we added red chili to the tartar sauce this evening and it made for a more picante flavor that we thought folks in Los Lunas will like.

The calabacitas was tender, almost too soft, but delicious.

We drank a bottle of Spanish Pazo Serantellos 2010 Albariño (about $16.00 at Whole Foods, I think) which tasted delicious with the delicate texture of the trout flesh.  The albariño was a much better fit with the delicate white meat of the trout than the heavier Viura on Sunday night.

I thought the tartar sauce had a bit too much chili but it was balanced between sweet and picante and not as sweet as I usually like it, but it expressed an interesting juxtaposition of both sweet and hot flavors.

Bon Appétit