What the heck is trucha arcoiris? It looks like salmon...

But it's actually trout. Rainbow trout to be exact. This is what you end up buying when you don't know Spanish and the fishmonger doesn't speak English. It's fun!

this is trucha arcoiris, also known as rainbow trout

I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to make with all of the groceries I bought yesterday that miraculously made it back to my house. But I figured some good standbys would work. Some friends of mine made dinner for me one night in January from the Dolce Diet, and I loved it so much I've made it a couple times a week since then. Thanks M & B! (Side note: they run an awesome Board Games and Burger Night on Sundays at their house - check them out.)

Sauteed Rainbow Trout with Dolce Spinach

makes: enough for 1 hungry person

For the Dolce Spinach

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced tomatoes - I used a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• salt & pepper
• 2 cups washed fresh spinach leaves
• 1 Tbsp freshly chopped basil
• juice of half a lime

For the Sauteed Trout

• 4 oz rainbow trout fillet (skin on or off, depends on your preference)
• a handful of nuts, chopped - I had pistachios from the flight the other day so I chopped those up and decided it was an excellent choice

Recommended cooking tunes:

DJ Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz vol 4 because if you're listening to this record, you enjoy the finer things in life.

Preparation

1. Heat a medium saute pan with 1 tsp olive oil over med heat. Add garlic and onion; saute for about 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.
3. When the tomatoes start to spill their juices (about 3-4 min) add the spinach and basil. Toss the spinach and basil in the lovely juices so that it begins to wilt. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to toss. Squeeze lime juice over dish.
4. At this point, heat a second skillet over medium heat with 1 tsp olive oil. If your trout has no skin, salt and pepper one side of the trout. If your trout does have skin, season the non-skin side. When the pan is hot, add the fish to the pan either seasoned-side or skin-side down. If your fish has no skin, salt and pepper the unseasoned side that is facing up in your skillet. Cook for about 2-3 minutes depending upon the thickness of the fish. 
5. Flip the fish and cook through, another 2-3 minutes.
6. Serve the fish over sauteed spinach with chopped nuts.

sauteeing garlic, onion and tomato

spinach and basil washed and ready

spinach is beginning to wilt - add lime juice

this fish has no skin, thus I seasoned the top side before flipping

nicely golden brown after flipping