Delicious dish for the grill-owning contingent.

I know all of you city dwellers probably don't have a barbecue, but for those of you readers who are lucky enough to have one, I've got a super simple recipe, pretty much guaranteed to impress and satisfy your guests.

John's Grilled Trout with Lemon, Thyme, & Garlic:

This recipe is per fish, and John usually does 2-people, per fish, for lunch. You could probably swing 2-people, per fish, for dinner too, if you also serve an appetizer and dessert. Or if you're feeding a small person.

Ingredients:
1-Whole Fresh Water Trout, gutted and cleaned
2-Sprigs of Thyme
2-Thin Slices of Lemon
Thinly Sliced Garlic (1/2 clove)
1-T. Good Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Get grill as hot as humanly possible.

Meanwhile, rinse your trout with cold water and pat dry. Then, open 'em up, and stuff with the ingredients listed above, and drizzle the inside with an ample amount of olive oil, salt, & pepper. Then close 'em back up, and drizzle the exterior w/ a similar amount of olive oil, salt & pepper.

Wrap them individually in cooking twine, and tie tightly. This step isn't essential but it makes flipping them on the grill much tidier.

Once your grill is as hot as humanly possible, lay your trout on the rack. DON'T TOUCH THEM UNTIL YOU HAVE TO FLIP THEM. 6 minutes each side. Both sides.

Done. Awesome. Serve immediately!

On The Side:

I whipped up this unbelievably good, seriously low-effort side dish, made with summer squash and zucchini, sauteed and then mixed into orzo.

I'm not sure it merits a "recipe" but the gist was this...

Put 1 qt. of water and 1 qt. of chicken broth in a pot together. Bring to a boil, and then add the orzo. I bought a box of the Barilla stuff, and added about 1/3 of the box. Boil for about 9 minutes and then drain.

Chop up the squash and zucchini into 1/4" pieces (leave the skin on) and then sauté in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Cook until pleasantly soft, but not squishy. EMPHASIS ON NOT SQUISHY. Nobody likes squishy squash. This is a common misconception made throughout the midwest and in buffet-style restaurants across the United States. NO ONE LIKES SQUISHY SQUASH.

Once the zucchini/squash is cooked, gently toss the orzo and squash together, add a little more salt and pepper, and you're set.

In a small separate bowl, mix together a dressing of lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, & olive oil. I recently discovered that I've been massively over-dressing my salads, so I recommend starting with just one tablespoon of the dressing in the bottom of a big bowl and then gently tossing (ideally by hand) a big bowl of salad greens in the dressing. I used bay kale, and it was terrific! If it still seems dry, add a 1/2 a tablespoon, and keep adding until it is dressed to your liking.

I'm telling you-- I've made A LOT of salads--  
and I was SERIOUSLY OVER-DRESSING my salads. 

Try this approach and compare.

So-- ideally-- you now have your orzo dish, your (lightly dressed) kale salad, and your grilled trout. Open up the trout and pull the bones gently from the flesh. Cut the fish into two pieces, and plate each piece on the bed of orzo, salad to the side; and serve. Garnish with a little lemon.

So good. So simple. SO EASY.