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Trout with brown butter, capers and garlic

Fish. Butter. Capers. Nothing better.

By Lisa Featherby
  • 35 mins preparation
  • 25 mins cooking
  • Serves 4
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Trout with brown butter, capers and garlic
This classic combination of flavours also works well with flathead or skate. Keep the trout warm in a low oven as you cook; the fish should still be pink when served, so spooning hot butter over them is all that's needed to finish them off.

Ingredients

  • 200 gm green beans, trimmed
  • 150 gm chilled unsalted Westgold butter, diced
  • 4 plate-sized rainbow or brown trout, butterflied (see note)
  • 2 tbsp salted baby capers, rinsed and drained
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1½ tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Lemon cheeks, to serve

Method

  • 1
    Preheat oven to lowest setting. Blanch beans in a saucepan of boiling water (3-4 minutes), then drain.
  • 2
    Heat 20gm butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat until starting to foam. Add trout one at a time, skin-side down, and fry until skin is golden and crisp (2-3 minutes). Shake pan to loosen fish, then tilt pan and spoon hot butter over flesh to cook until pink (1 minute). Place fish in a low oven on a warm plate and covered loosely with foil to keep warm, then wipe pan clean with paper towels and repeat with remaining trout and 20gm butter each.
  • 3
    Wipe pan with paper towels, then add remaining butter and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until foaming and nut brown (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat, add capers, garlic and parsley, and swirl until capers are crisp (1-2 minutes). Add beans and toss to coat, then serve with trout and lemon cheeks.

Notes

To butterfly trout, remove the head from the fish with a sharp knife. Open out the belly and insert a filleting knife between the ribs and flesh close to the backbone. Pull the knife away from the backbone to detach the ribs on both sides, then cut the backbone at the tail end with scissors, keeping the tail attached. Gently pull the fillets, joined by the skin, away from the backbone and remove any remaining bones from the flesh with tweezers.
Drink Suggestion: Fine buttery chardonnay Drink suggestion by Max Allen

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  • undefined: Lisa Featherby