Recipe courtesy of Keith McNally, Riad Nasr, and Lee Hanson

Warm Salad of Grilled Trout with Spinach and Lentils

  • Level: Advanced
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Total: 45 min
  • Prep: 25 min
  • Cook: 20 min
Served at lunch, dinner or late-night, this well-rounded salad has been a favorite since the day we opened.
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Ingredients

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 pound asparagus, stems trimmed, ends peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 cup cooked lentils

8 trout fillets, skin on

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup walnuts

3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 pound baby spinach, well rinsed and spun dry

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and mustard to form a glaze. Set aside.
  2. Prepare an ice-water bath in a large bowl and bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus until tender, 6 minutes. Drain and refresh them in the ice water to preserve their color. Drain again and set aside.
  3. Heat the lentils over a low flame and keep warm.
  4. Spray a grill or grill pan with nonstick spray and preheat until it's very hot (if using a grill pan, heat for at least 4 minutes). Dry the fillets and season the flesh sides with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, then brush both sides with the olive oil. Place the fish, skin side down, on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the fish and brush the skin side with the reserved honey-mustard glaze. Continue to cook for 2 minutes. Hold the cooked trout aside.
  5. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the walnuts and toast for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan often to prevent burning. Season the nuts with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and 3 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the vinegar has reduced to a thick syrup that coats the nuts. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and stir for an additional minute. Turn the flame down to low and add the asparagus.
  6. In a small saucepan, bring the remaining 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil. Cook for about 3 minutes, until it has reduced down to 2 tablespoons.
  7. Turn the flame off under the asparagus-walnut mixture and add the baby spinach along with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze. Gently toss to combine, and allow the heat of the pan to wilt the spinach.
  8. Plate the salad by creating a small bed of the spinach-asparagus mixture in the center of the plate, surrounded by 3 dollops of warm lentils. Place 2 trout fillets, skin side up, on top of the spinach mixture. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.

Let's Get Cooking!

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simone g.

made this for a casual dinner one night. didn't have time to make the lentils but i didn't feel like the dish was missing them. instead, served it with a grain mix. absolutely outstanding and really well received. <br /> <br />also, i didn't toast the nuts in butter. i simply put them in the oven for a couple of minutes until they were beautiful. and hten i just used a little olive oil in the pan instead of any butter. still delicious and a little healthier. <br /> <br />also, i used steelhead trout. <br /> <br />very good!

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