According to Zach Poole, there aren’t very many dishes that don’t pair well with beer. When he’s not busy running the kitchen at Main Street’s popular Portland Craft, you’re likely to find him sipping a cold one with a meal. Beer is, in fact, one of the main reasons the Edmonton-born chef headed west when he was 19.

“I and one of my friends got really, really drunk one night, and we were like, ‘Let’s move to Vancouver tomorrow!’ ” Poole tells the Georgia Straight during an interview at the year-old restaurant. “We woke up the next morning, packed up all of our stuff, and left.”

When Poole arrived in Vancouver, he had already been working in the restaurant industry for five years, mainly as a dishwasher and a busser. After cooking at casual eateries such as Falconetti’s East Side Grill and the Wings restaurant chain, he worked his way up to head chef at the now-closed Century Restaurant & Bar.

“That was a Spanish restaurant, and that’s where I started getting to work with chefs and really nice food,” Poole says. “It wasn’t my first job in Vancouver…but that was my first proper kitchen, and I absolutely loved it.”

At Portland Craft, Poole’s menu is focused on pub favourites rather than paella. Braised pork belly, bruschetta, and fried chicken and waffles are all made from scratch using organic meats and local produce.

When Poole has a night off, his go-to dishes at home are grounded in the type of Spanish cuisine he was trained in—croquettes, frittata, and steelhead trout romesco.

“Traditionally, romesco is roasted red pepper, almonds, and generally olive oil as a purée. It’s a really old, rustic, traditional sauce,” Poole instructs while seated in the dining room at Portland Craft. “It’s great on any pink fish, white fish, and chicken…but even, I find, any type of grilled vegetable—it’s an incredibly versatile sauce.”

To go with the nutty flavour of the sauce and the smokiness of the grilled fish, Poole likes to pair his steelhead trout romesco with Tofino Brewing Co.’s Hoppin’ Cretin IPA, which has notes of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine.

“As far as IPAs go, it’s not bitter,” Poole says. “If someone was trying to get into IPAs or if someone said they didn’t like IPAs, this would be the beer I would give them. It’s a great beer.”

Zach Poole's Steelhead Trout Romesco with grilled leek and asparagus

Ingredients

5 oz (140 g) steelhead trout
1 tsp (5 mL) olive oil, divided
1 leek
6 asparagus stalks
Romesco sauce (see below)
1 sprig dill

Method

1. Remove the skin from the trout by sliding a knife between the meat and the skin and pulling the knife down the length of the fillet. Rub ½ tsp (2 mL) olive oil on the meat and salt and pepper both sides.

2. Cut off the upper green half of the leek and discard. Slice the remainder of the stalk in half. Coat with ¼ tsp (1 mL) olive oil and salt and pepper.

3. Remove the woody bottom part of the asparagus and coat with the remaining ¼ tsp (1 mL) olive oil and salt and pepper.

4. Over medium-high heat on a barbecue or grill, cook the trout until medium-rare (about 2 to 3 minutes per side). Cook the leek and asparagus until tender, about 2 minutes a side.

5. Place a generous amount of romesco sauce on a plate, followed by the asparagus, leek, and trout. Top the trout with a dollop of romesco sauce, drizzle the plate with olive oil, and add a sprig of dill as a garnish.

Romesco Sauce

1 red pepper
⅓ cup (75 mL) cashews
¼ cup (50 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) dried, ground Espelette pepper (or ancho chili powder)
½ lemon, juiced

1. Grill the whole pepper over high heat until the skin on all sides starts to blister and turn black. Remove from heat and place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

2. Once the pepper is cool to the touch, remove skin and stem. Slice open to remove seeds.

3. Place the pepper, cashews, olive oil, Espelette pepper, and juice from half a lemon in a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 1 serving and some leftover romesco sauce.

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.