Pomegranate Glazed Trout with Kale Pilaf & Cucumber Mint Yogurt

I'm not sure I'll get tired of cooking middle eastern food. I've been cooking it all through March and yet I find myself getting excited every day for all the things I still have to make. The only thing that slightly concerns me is that I haven't been using as many vegetables in my weekly menu as I'm used to. But that's entirely my fault with the menu I've been creating. So with my next week's menu, I added two middle eastern inspired salads to get my vegetable intake up.
Honestly, every week my favorite chore is creating my weekly menu and getting a grocery list in order. The shopping for those ingredients is my next favorite chore :)

Coming to this recipe, the trout is fruity with the orange zest and the pomegranate molasses. Adding the molasses as a glaze also keeps it super moist. The kale rice is a nice change from plain rice, especially if you want to increase the amount of vegetables you're eating. The cucumber yogurt came as a very nice surprise to me. I'd never added sultanas (golden raisins) to a yogurt sauce before and pairing this cucumber yogurt sauce with the fruity fish enhanced the whole pairing. Delicious & healthy altogether, yum!

Pomegranate Glazed Trout
Recipe adapted from Zahav, Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook
Makes 6-7 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs trout fillet with skin on, cut into 2 inch cubes (or substitute salmon, skin on)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp urfa pepper
zest from 1 orange
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

Instructions:
Put the fish cubes in a 9X13” pan and sprinkle the salt, Urga pepper, orange zest and minced garlic. Rub it into the fish well using both hands. Let marinate in the fridge for an hour or two. Preheat the broiler and skewer the fish and lay them skin side up and brush two Theo of the molasses and broil for 3 minutes. Turn the answers over and brush with the rest of the molasses and broil for about 2 more minutes, till done.

Kale Pilaf
Recipe adapted from Zahav, Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups jasmine rice, soaked in water for an hour, and then washed and drained well
4 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb baby kale leaves, very thinly sliced - almost shredded (8 oz kale leaves without stems, weighed after de-stemming)
2 tsp urfa pepper
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
Zest from two lemons (optional - I couldn’t taste it in the final product)
2 1/2 cups water

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat oil in an oven proof saucepan over medium heat and sauté onion till lightly caramelized. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more. Add the kale, both peppers and salt and sauté for a minute or two till wilted. Add rice and roast for about 3 minutes. Add zest and water and bring to a boil. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Let it sit without opening the lid for 20 more minutes. Then fluff with a fork and serve.

Cucumber Mint Yogurt
Recipe adapted from Persiana, Sabrina Ghayour
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 english cucumber, coarsely grated and squeezed of extra water (in hands or strainer)
1 tsp dried mint (mine's almost a powder but if your's is in flakes, you can up to 2 tsp)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup golden raisins (could substitute darker raisins)
450 gm/2 cups greek yogurt
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tsp dried rose petals

Instructions:
Mix the cucumber with the mint, salt and raisins. Add the yogurt and mix it thoroughly. Spread it in your serving bowl and too with chopped walnuts and dried rose petals.