Recipe: Trout with Tomatoes and Greens

Waitstaff see a lot of people, and they see a lot of children.  They are always surprised to find that my daughter's favorite protein source is fish.  She simply cannot get enough fish.  "Oh, she's a little kid," they scoff.  "She won't want fish.  She's two."  This seems strange to me, since I've always loved fish myself, but they certainly see more children at mealtimes than I do so I will yield to their perception of what is normal.  Although Little Boyfriend is also very fond of fish, and has consumed sushi with gusto for most of his life.  Maybe it's just our social circle that's abnormal?  Or maybe the expectation is that children don't like fish.  Maybe parents expect their children to not like fish and children just live up to it.  I don't know about that one either, though.  My sister and I were raised with identical expectations when it came to food, and she was a much pickier eater than I was.  I don't know.  She's especially fond of fish served in a form like this, where she can identify parts.  "This was the fish's fin!" she will exclaim exultantly.  "And this was his tail!"  

Anyway, what I do know is that Fearless Toddler loves fish in all its forms - raw, fried, baked, broiled, grilled, stewed, poached... I'm finding myself hard-pressed to find creative ways to serve it.  I'm definitely looking forward to the day when we can serve shellfish to her, because it will open up a whole new world of possibilities in terms of dinner.  When I made this dish I went to the store and I saw the trout and I immediately craved it.  I knew it would taste nothing like the trout of my youth, when my dad would catch it and bring it home and we would eat it.  By "we" I mean he and I.  My mother and sister never liked fish and still don't.  Sometimes my grandmother would eat trout too.  Sometimes she wouldn't.  Anyhow, these are farm-raised trout and bear little resemblance to what I enjoyed as a kid, but little resemblance is better than no resemblance sometimes and I'll take what I can get.  

Trout with Tomatoes and Greens (serves 4; approx. $6.16/serving)

3 trout fillets

1 bunch mustard greens, cleaned and chopped

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups white wine

1 cup water

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 sage leaves, chopped

Equipment:

• Large, deep saute pan

1. Heat the oil in the saute pan.
2. Add the onion and about half the sage.  
3. Sweat the onion over low heat until soft.
4. Add the wine and water.  Bring to a simmer.  
5. Add the fish.  Poach the fish until cooked.  
6. Evacuate the fish to a platter and keep warm.  Aluminum foil works well.
7. Add the vegetables to the pan and increase the heat.  Cook the vegetables until the mustard greens are tender.  
8. Evacuate the vegetables to the platter along with as much of the pan sauce as does not make too much of a mess.  Remember, I'm serving to a toddler.  My perception of how much will make a mess may differ from yours.
9. Serve and enjoy.