Recipe: Grilled Trout with Grape Leaves

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-02-23
From: Nancy,.SanFran

Grilled Trout with Grape Leaves
Recipe By : Simply Seafood
Serving Size : 2
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt -- to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper -- to taste
2 whole trout - (about 3/4 lb ea) -- gutted
12 large grape leaves - (half an 8-oz jar) -- drained

Seafood Alternatives: small salmon, small bluefish, small Arctic char

In a medium bowl, combine the cooked rice, lemon juice, olive oil and lemon zest with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat a barbecue grill or preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Thoroughly rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Spoon the rice mixture into the stomach cavity of each fish.

Lay 6 grape leaves in a rectangle on the work surface, slightly overlapping so there are no large gaps. Set one of the trout on top and wrap the leaves up and over the fish. Lay another leaf or two on top of the fish if necessary to fully enclose it. If grilling, tie a few pieces of kitchen string around the fish to secure. Repeat with the second fish.

Brush the grill with oil and cook until the fish is just opaque through (make a small slit through the leaves to check), 4 to 6 minutes on each side.

Alternatively, put the fish in an oiled baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes. Discard the strings and serve.

This recipe yields 2 servings.

Comments: In the Mediterranean, particularly in Greece, grape leaves are traditionally wrapped around small fish such as red mullet and grilled over a wood fire. The leaves help keep the fish moist, hold it together and add distinctive flavor. Here we've adapted that idea to trout, because red mullet and other smaller fish aren't easy to find in this country. You can also make this recipe with one large fish, 2 to 2 1/2 pounds, rather than two small fish.

If you like, omit the rice stuffing and simply fill the fish cavity with lemon slices instead.

Source: Simply Seafood (recipe archive) at http://www.simplyseafood.com