Assignment: cook a whole fish. Wasn’t going to do it. Sounded complicated, messy, and expensive. But a trip to Fitz, our local seafood market, turned up a lovely rainbow trout. Add seasonal veggies from the farmer’s market and we created a whole rainbow trout recipe that was simple and affordable.
You could probably stuff a rainbow trout with almost any veggie combination. We used what was in our fridge – arugula, red onion, bacon and we wanted these pretty yellow oyster mushrooms from a local grower.
The seafood guys at Fitz filleted and deboned the rainbow trout. Cheating? Maybe, but there is no reason to make life more complicated. We overstuffed him, wrapped him in foil, and baked him in the oven. Easy peasy and we used some lemon squeezy.
To serve we scooped out the veggies and fish and placed them atop some boxed mushroom and herb cous cous. We served asparagus, salad, bread and cheese so one 10 oz fish was enough for two. You may want to get one per person. Cost of rainbow trout: under $7.00
To pair a wine we wanted to avoid red. Red wine and fish pairings are tricky. You have to have a heavy fish and a very low tannin wine. But our mushroom, bacony flavors were going to be too earthy for a light white. We chose 2013 Reserve Chardonnay from Stoller Family Estate. The exquisite oak used to make this wine gave it the heft our dish needed. Apple and mineral notes kept our attention. And the lemony fresh acidity gave the wine a bright finish that lifted the flavors of the wine and the dish. We kept drinking long after Seymour the rainbow trout was history and we happily finished the bottle. Yes, we named him Seymour. Remember we were drinking. If this wine is not in your market, other cool climate chardonnay in French oak would work.
Camilla Mann of Culinary Adventures with Camilla organized the whole fish theme for our #FishFridayFoodies. Scroll to the end to see what other members made. We are very likely to try more whole fish recipes now that we are over our initial hesitation.
- 1 whole rainbow trout, filleted and deboned
- ¼ cup sweet red bell pepper, diced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- ½ cup arugula, chopped
- ⅛ cup red onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1-2 Tbs leftover red wine or sherry
- 1 slice bacon, chopped
- Lemon, zest and juice
- Soak mushrooms in wine or sherry.
- Pan fry bacon and onion until almost done but bacon isn't crisped. Remove and drain.
- Place fish on foil. Sprinkle flesh with salt and pepper.
- Fill fish with red pepper, arugula, thyme, onion/bacon mixture, drained mushrooms.
- Top with lemon zest and juice from ½ lemon. Reserve other lemon half for garnish.
- Wrap fish in foil. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake 350 degrees
Your stuffing sounds delicious, quite unusual for fish but trout can take a good amount of flavor I think. Yum!
Trout is fun to play with. They can handle strong flavours along with light ones. And I love you got the butcher to fillet and debone the fish.
Gorgeous! I love the vegetable combo. And the wine!
Your stuffing sounds totally delicious and the mushrooms are stunning! I could definitely eat a whole trout myself!
I love your way of cheating! I would have done the same thing. Less touching of cold dead fish with eyes staring at you is a good thing! Love your recipe! Sounds delicious!
I love the use of arugula in your stuffing was brilliant. The trout looks delicious. P~
So fantastic! Love the images & descriptions… I’ve not prepared a whole fish, but this looks divine!
Thanks Jill. It was my first whole fish too and now that I am over my initial fear my wheels are turning with ideas for different seasons fillings.
Jade, I could not read beyond the wine! Just kidding…I loved the way you treated Seymour. He sure must have been happy to make you happy. The fillings and wine pairing was awesome.
A delicious stuffing in fish, very tempting.