Grilled trout dinner

We decided to christen the new kitchen counters and welcome this warm spring weather with a delicious dinner of grilled trout. The dinner consisted of grilled trout, green beans tarragon and forbidden rice. 

Jason is in charge of grilling the fish, but I did help prepare some of the ingredients which are very simple - lemon, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and butter. Other than the ingredient list, I can't offer alot on the how-to for fish cooking. I think it was grilled for 8 - 10 minutes on foil.

What I can help with are the rest of the dinner ingredients. First, green beans tarragon. I love this dish which allows the beans to stay crisp and full of flavor. 

Green beans Tarragon

2 TBS olive 

1 lb green beans 

2 cloves garlic, mashed

 2 tsp fresh tarragon chopped (or 1 tsp dried tarragon)

3 TBS dry white wine

1. Heat oil over med-high heat in a large skillet.

2. Add beans, saute 5 minutes until crisp tender.

3. Add salt, pepper, garlic, wine and tarragon, cook about 2 more minutes. 

Rice comes in many textures and colors beyond white. Forget minute rice all together. If you have to use white rice, try Jasmine or Basmati. They both cook in 15 minutes and have a wonderful aroma and flavor. 

One of our favorite and most colorful kinds of rice is called Forbidden rice. This rice is not cheap, but it is amazingly tasty. It is black before cooked, but turns into a fabulous deep purple after cooking. It has a hearty texture similar to wild rice, but a unique flavor. I highly recommend it. I find it at Whole Foods in the pre-packaged rice section. It is not sold in bulk. Cook with just water or add veggie broth for more flavor. The cooking instructions are on the package.