Baked Trout with Fennel
Submitted by kathmando
Whole rainbow trout baked with fennel fronds, lemon slices, and white wine, then drizzled with a nutty brown butter sauce. A French-inspired fish dinner ready in 30 minutes.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
15 minREADY
30 minThere’s a reason French cooks have paired fish with brown butter for centuries. It works.
A whole rainbow trout gets stuffed with lemon slices and feathery fennel fronds, bathed in dry white wine, and baked just until the flesh flakes at the touch of a fork.
Then comes the finishing move: a meuniere butter, cooked slowly until it turns a toasty hazelnut color, spiked with lemon juice and chopped fennel.
Pour it over the fish and listen to it sizzle. That’s the sound of a 30-minute dinner that tastes like a weekend in Provence.
Pro Tips
- Watch the meuniere butter closely. It goes from golden brown to burnt in seconds. Keep the heat low and shake the pan constantly.
- Use the feathery fronds from the fennel bulb, not the bulb itself. They’re milder and more aromatic, like a gentler version of dill.
- Baste the trout with the wine and pan juices every few minutes while it bakes. This keeps the skin from drying out and adds flavor.
- Serve the trout whole on a platter for maximum visual impact. Guests can pull the flesh right off the bones at the table.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and clean trout thoroughly, scraping skin with a dull knife. Pat dry. Cut off fins with scissors or sharp knife and trim tails. Place trout in a greased oblong baking dish . Place half the lemon slices, half the fennel sprigs and some butter inside prepared trout. Add wine and top with remaining lemon slices, fennel sprigs and butter.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃). until fish flakes when tested with a fork (12 to 15 minutes, depending upon size of trout.) Baste periodically. Meanwhile, make meuniere butter: In a small, heavy saucepan, melt butter. Cook slowly over low heat, shaking pan vigorously, until butter is a light brown nut color. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped fennel and serve at once, poured over baked trout.
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