I have to admit, once summer begins, I really look forward to the inevitable action packed, over the top, fun summer weekends. Case in point, last weekend, which involved grilled cheese for breakfast at the farmer’s market (because June is National dairy month, naturally), a Whisk farm workday at Raleigh’s Hillside Farm, a lazy afternoon sipping fine cocktails at Robinia Courtyard, and a Sunday night meat raffle. If you guessed I was exhausted come Monday, you would be correct.

But, it was okay for two reasons. 1. Besides breakfast grilled cheese, I also happened to pick up some fresh rainbow trout at Saturday’s farmer’s market, and 2. I knew that said trout could be easily cooked up for a quick, minimal effort supper.

You can very easily cook this dinner up on your stovetop, but because it’s summer and all, I prefer to cook my trout in a cast iron skillet on the grill. The benefit of this being some extra smokiness imparted to the fish, as well as the ability to simultaneously grill up any veggies you want to eat as a side dish (in our case, we opted for new potatoes with dill butter). Serve it all with a crisp green salad, a chilled bottle of white wine and some fresh farmer’s market strawberries for dessert, and dinner is taken care of.

Rainbow Trout with Bacon and Chives

Serves 2

Grill temperatures may vary, so keep a close eye on your cooking, as timing may vary from grill to grill. As the grill is quite hot, cooking times will also likely be a bit longer if cooked on the stovetop.

Additional grilling tip: things cook fast on the grill, so with this recipe especially, a good mise en place is your friend. That is, have all of your ingredients measured out, chopped, and ready to go once you start cooking. I like to organize everything on a sheet tray to make it easier to transport outside to the grill.

2 rainbow trout fillets, approx ¾ lb total
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp flour
2 slices bacon, roughly chopped
⅓ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped chives + more for garnish
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Lemon wedges for serving

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over the surface of the fish fillets. Dredge fillets in flour.

2. In a cast iron skillet set over the hot side of the grill (or medium-high heat if cooking on a stovetop), cook the bacon until just beginning to crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Add trout, skin side down, to the pan and cook until skin is crispy. Flip fillets and cook skin side up until fish is cooked through, about 2 1/2 minutes per side.

4. Remove fillets and keep warm while you finish the sauce. Add the white wine, chives, butter and lemon juice to the pan, sauteeing until chives are soft, and sauce is beginning to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. Stir the bacon back into sauce.

5. Place a trout fillet on each plate and top with equal amounts of the sauce. Sprinkle with more fresh chives and serve with additional lemon wedges, and grilled new potatoes with dill butter (recipe follows)

Grilled New Potatoes with Dill Butter

Serves 2-3

Another bonus about this meal is that any leftover trout or potatoes can easily be cooked up the next morning to make a pretty amazing breakfast hash.

1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill weed (or more to taste)

1. Place potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are just tender, then remove from heat and drain. (You can do this step hours, or even a day in advance. Just keep potatoes refrigerated until ready to grill).

2. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Transfer potatoes to a grill pan, or wrap in a foil packet, and grill until tender and beginning to brown, about 15-20 minutes (throw them on a few minutes before you start the fish, and they’ll be ready about the same time the fish is done).

3. Remove potatoes from grill, transfer to a bowl, and toss with the melted butter and chopped dill.