Dinner for Two: Whole Roast Trout Dinner with Potatoes and Asparagus

In the summer, my family always grills whole fish stuffed with lemons and herbs until they're charred and smoky and flaky and perfect. We serve them along with asparagus that's crisped on the corner of the grill, and some boiled potatoes or corn. It's my family's version of the perfect summer barbecue, light but hearty, and just so happy and comforting.

Back at work in London, I wanted to find a way to recreate the summer grilled fish magic for me and Mr. English. My oven-roasted version is the ultimate easy weeknight feast stand-in. I stuff two whole rainbow trout with olive oil, huge bundles of mossy lemon thyme, and windowpanes of sliced lemon. I roast them on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with a mess of baby new potatoes and asparagus. Just leave them all together in the oven for 25 minutes and come back to crisp potatoes, charred asparagus, and juicy, flaky, herbaceous trout.

Two nights ago, as Mr. English sat down at the table, I put a plate with a whole fish and a garden of vegetables in front of him. He told me to bring my plate and he'd split it with me. When I told him it was all his and that I had my own, he was disarmingly thrilled. It's a feast full of easy, fast, and hearty flavor.