Rainbow Trout Fillets with New Potatoes

Pan fried rainbow trout fillets are served on a salad bed with buttered new potatoes

Rainbow trout is perhaps more often cooked whole by being baked in the oven. In this instance, however, although I bought the fish whole, I decided to fillet it myself and pan fry the fillets in a little oil and butter. I was not disappointed. I served the fillets incredibly simply on a bed of mixed salad leaves and with some boiled new potatoes.

Ingredients

2 rainbow trout fillets
8 to 10 baby new potatoes, or as required
Generous handful of mixed green salad leaves
2 tablespoons plain/all purpose flour
Vegetable oil
1 ounce (1/4 stick) butter, approximately
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried dill

New potatoes are added to cold salted water

Directions

Start by washing the new potatoes but leave the skins intact. Add them to a pot of cold water along with a little sea salt. Put the pot on to a high heat until the water reaches a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for half an hour or until the potatoes are just softened.

Supermarket mixed salad leaves

Supermarket salads like the one shown above consisting of spinach, rocket (arugula), red and ruby chard will often state on the packet that the leaves are washed and ready to eat. Never take this for granted. Always put them in to a colander and rinse them thoroughly under running cold water. Sit the colander aside on a draining board until the leaves are required.

Washing salad leaves in cold water

Spoon the flour on to a large dinner plate, season with salt and pepper and scatter evenly over the plate. Add a little oil and half the butter to a large, non-stick frying pan and put the pan on to a fairly high heat. Wash the trout fillets in a bowl of cold water (not under running water or you may damage them), pat them carefully dry and pat the skin sides only in the seasoned flour.

Trout fillets are patted in seasoned flour on skin sides

When the butter is melted and the oil is fairly hot, lay the trout fillets in the pan, skin sides down. Continue to cook on a fairly high heat as the idea is to crisp up the skin. Don't worry - the skin will protect the flesh from overcooking.

Pan frying rainbow trout fillets

When you can see by looking at them that the fillets are almost cooked (roughly three minutes but the visual test should always be the acid test) you should switch the heat off completely, push the pan to a cool part of the stove-top and only then carefully turn the fillets with a spatula or fish slice on to the flesh sides. Leave them to complete cooking in this way while you drain the potatoes and prepare them for serving.

Butter and dill are added to boiled new potatoes

Drain the potatoes through a colander at the sink and return them to the empty pot. Add the remainder of the butter and the dill. Swirl the pot to combine. Plate the salad with the potatoes and carefully lay the trout fillets, skin sides up, on the salad bed. You will find that the skins peel easily away from the fillets leaving the delicious, moist flesh ready to eat.

Crisp skin peels easily from pan fried rainbow trout fillets