I had the opportunity to cook some trout and walleye recently after a particularly successful fishing trip with family in Washington state. I breaded the walleye in panko and fried it, and made the trout two ways–en croute, and grilled and served over greens. Everything turned out well, but the last dish was my favorite, so I share it here. Freshly caught is always best, but I think it would work well with store-bought trout.
Ingredients
6-7 fresh fillets of rainbow trout, skin on (scaled if possible)
salt
white pepper
garlic powder
black pepper
red chile flakes
olive oil
12-14 oz. arugula and other greens
lemon
Recipe
Preheat gas or charcoal grill, and clean and dry greens. Place fillets in glass dish and lightly season, coat with olive oil, and let stand 10-15 minutes. Sear on grill flesh-side down, 4-5 minutes, and turn over onto skin, and cover. While trout is grilling, toss greens with olive oil and lemon, season with salt, and place on large platter. Cook trout until just cooked, and use spatula to take the flesh from skin,* and arrange on top of the greens. Serve with a baguette sliced thin and good butter. This dish pairs well with a dry riesling.
*If you have scaled the skin, you can let it crisp up on the grill as it cools off, and then cut or break into pieces, and serve with trout on greens, perhaps even on top, as a garnish.
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