trout from my own backyard

Well, technically the fish didn't come from my garden, but since there were fresh food markets in the square under my apartment block it kind of counts.

Last Sunday I was scanning the available selections when I spotted the Cowra Smokehouse selling various smoked delicacies such as eel, walnuts, quail, salmon and even fresh line-caught rainbow trout.

I was irresistibly drawn to the portable glass trolley filled with ice and fresh fish and after much encouragement from Jonas I decided to buy one. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten at home.

When I got back to the apartment, I stared at the fat trout and thought it was just too pretty to eat. Then I got over that.

I decided I wanted to cook it with as little embellishment as possible. It was so fresh that I thought simple was best.

Leafing through Rick Stein’s My Favourite Seafood Recipes, I found a few trout recipes but none stood out to me as a whole. Instead I took his cooking technique from one recipe and combined it with a fresh herb sauce from another recipe.

Rick says he found the recipe for this herb sauce in an old recipe book from 1820 and it was entitled “housekeeper’s recipe”. If I’d had a housekeeper that had made this for me, I would have been a happy little vegemite.

Pan-fried Rainbow Trout w Salsa Verde
Anna’s muddling of Rick Stein’s recipes. Serves 1 hungry girl.
Ingredients:
Trout
1 whole trout, scaled and cleaned
Butter, for frying
Olive oil, for frying
Flour, for dusting
Salt and pepper, for seasoning
Salsa Verde
½ tablespoon mint leaves
Small bunch of chives
1½ tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons capers in brine, drained and rinsed
4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
Method:
1. For the salsa verde, combine all ingredients on a chopping board and chop finely until a paste is formed. Scrape into a bowl and add Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Stir to combine then set aside.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the fish.
3. Season the fish, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Dust lightly in flour, shaking off excess flour.
4. Fry fish for 5 minutes on each side.
5. Arrange fish on plate and serve with salsa verde.

I simply adored this salsa verde and will use it again and again with anything I possibly can. This whole meal was incredible and I was a very content diner afterwards.

I made the salsa verde while Jonas fried the fish. For some reason I hate to fry fish and chicken because I never seem to cook them right. It either comes out dry or raw. Despite being a vegetarian, Jonas is a frying fiend so I left this task to the household expert. It was perfect.

So Pan-fried Rainbow Trout w Salsa Verde is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by its creator, Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Check out the recap if you get the chance. The pool of entries is growing by the week!