Tuesday, March 1, 2011

34: Crispy Whole Trout / Herbal Tomato & Zucchini Relish

Here we have another installment from Jessica Strand’s Cooking for Two: Perfect Meals for Pairs. We found this to be incredibly delicious, and the herbal tomato and zucchini relish is bursting with flavor. Rainbow trout is a light and delicate freshwater fish. Head to the market and ask for a pound of trout, or two trout, left whole but cleaned and gutted. There is a fair amount of prep involved, yet it goes pretty quick. Dinner will be ready in under an hour. The crispy skin of the pan roasted trout provides a nice texture against the fresh-tasting relish. I diced fresh tomatoes to go with this, but the recipe calls for sliced cherry tomatoes. Be sure that your tomatoes and zucchini are at room temperature, or the relish will make for eating cold fish. Enjoy this treat with a light pinot noir or citrus-y, medium bodied white wine.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 whole trout, equaling 1 lb, cleaned and gutted
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 of a large zucchini, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion
1/2 a tablespoon each of finely chopped basil, mint, parsley, and thyme
1/2 cup of flour
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Butter
Salt and pepper

Combine veggies and herbs with one tablespoon each of olive and balsamic, and toss the mixture well. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Spread out the flour on a cutting board, and mix it with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a ¼ cup olive oil with a spoonful of butter over medium-high heat in a 12 inch pan, preferably cast iron. Dredge the trout in the flour really well while the oil and butter heat up. Pan fry the trout for 3-4 minutes per side. Spoon the relish over your fish.

Enjoy!

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