2026 Oscars Tasting Menu: Train Dreams

This was the first of the ten best-pic noms I watched to get prepared for these blog entries. It was an interesting movie that I enjoyed quite a bit. A bit heavy and depressing - there were a few like that this year and they all were my favorite. Hmm, what does that say about me? I don’t think it will win best pic; but it could win for best cinematography. As I’m not one for spoilers, there was a fishing scene and there was a big fire. So, I decided to smoke some trout. I used a stovetop smoker. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing one unless you have a high-powered exhaust fan and it’s also a nice day that you can open up the doors/windows. The end result was tasty, though.

However, I ran into an issue of what to do with the smoked trout since typically you'd make some sort of dip or rillette and I already had an appetizer on toast and didn’t want to repeat in this series. It was a beautiful day and I decided to make a tasty spring pasta dish with lemon juice and asparagus. The flaky smoked trout was perfect in the dish. 

Smoked Trout Pasta

• 1 lb smoked trout

• ¾ lb fettuccine

• Large bunch of asparagus

• 2 lemons

• Extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the fettuccine in a pasta pot of salted water with the strainer inserted. Use less water than you would normally use, just enough to cover the pasta by a couple of inches. You want the water to be extra starchy to create the sauce later. 

While the pasta cooks, cut away the fibrous ends of the asparagus and discard. Then cut away the spears in roughly 2” long segments, and slice the remaining stalks into half-inch pieces.

Pull the fish from the skin and break the fish into rough 2-inch chunks.

Once the pasta has cooked for about 5 minutes, start heating an empty rounded skillet over medium heat. 

After the pasta has cooked for 7 minutes, toss in the prepared asparagus. 

Once the pasta is just about cooked, (3-4 mins after you added the asparagus), lift the strainer out of the pot and allow to mostly drain, then pour all the contents into the skillet, including some water. 

Zest the lemons onto the pasta, then halve and juice the lemons into the skillet. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. 

Toss in the flaked fish, and add some additional pasta water with a ladle and start tossing the pasta to help combine the oil and starchy water to create a viscous sauce.  

Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and pinch of flaky sea salt.

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