Rainbow Trout with Ancho Orange Glaze

Ancho chili peppers are the dried version of the poblano chili and have a smoky-sweet flavour that is well suited for glazes. They are available at Latin markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

Another good option for this recipe is dried guajillo peppers. If you want to keep extra hot sauce for future use, such as spreading on chicken or blending into salad dressings, make sure to add some to a separate bowl for brushing on the trout so as not to contaminate all of it with raw fish.

2 dried ancho chili peppers
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
1 tsp (5 mL) orange zest
Juice of 1/2 orange
1 1/2 lb (750 g) rainbow trout
1/4 tsp (1 mL) sea salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper

Place ancho chilies in bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes, or until soft. Slice off stems and pour out most of the seeds. Reserve the seeds.

Place ancho chilies, 1/3 cup (80 mL) water, honey, orange zest, and orange juice in food processor or blender container and process until smooth. At this point taste the sauce. If it is too hot, blend in more honey or orange juice. If it is not hot enough, blend in some of the reserved seeds.

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).

Slice trout into 4 equal-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Place fish on parchment paper-lined baking sheet skin side down and brush on a generous layer of ancho sauce.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until flesh is opaque and easily flakes. Apply more glaze halfway through cooking and, if desired, at the end of cooking.

Serves 4.

Each serving contains: 292 calories; 36 g protein; 10 g total fat (3 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 14 g total carbohydrates (10 g sugars, 2 g fibre); 208 mg sodium

from "Red Hot Chili Peppers", alive #365, March 2013