Pan-Seared Trout with Tomato Pepper Relish & Yellow Rice
This pan-seared trout with a zippy Mediterranean tomato salsa is as fresh as it gets. A healthy homemade dinner in less than 30 minutes!
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pan recommended
Ingredients
- 1 batch yellow jasmine rice
Trout
- 2 large whole rainbow or other trout, cleaned substitution: 4 fillets for the whole trout
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper or to taste
- ½ tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 2 tbsp butter or oil (see recipe post for recommendations)
Tomato Pepper Relish
- ¾ cup diced fresh tomatoes, seeded and cut in ½" dice
- ¼ cup banana or sweet peppers, seeded and cut in ¼" dice
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp wine or sherry vinegar (optional)
- to taste salt & cracked black pepper
Garnish
- 2 tbsp chopped fried fresh sage or minced fresh herbs see post for suggestions
- to taste Maldon flaky salt (optional)
Instructions
cook rice:
- Make a batch of yellow jasmine rice, or your chosen side dish.
- While the rice is cooking, prep the fish and salsa.
prep tomato pepper relish:
- Wash and dice the vegetables for the relish.
- Combine the tomatoes, peppers, and capers, and drizzle with a tablespoon of good olive oil.
- Season to taste with the salt and black pepper.
- If your tomatoes are bland, or if you want a brighter flavor, add a dash (no more than a tablespoon) of good wine or sherry vinegar, or rice vinegar for a lighter flavor.
clean and season trout:
- Clean and rinse the trout if they have not been cleaned. Pat dry and put on a clean plate or sheet pan.
- Season with a light sprinkle of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. If you have lemon or citrus salt, this is a nice dish to use it instead of regular salt to season the fish before cooking.
preheat pan :
- Heat a cast iron, steel, or other heavy saute pan over medium high heat. If you are cooking large whole trout and want to finish cooking them in the oven, preheat that to 350-400℉.
- Test the pan with a drop of cold water. When it dances and sizzles on the surface, add the butter or oil and swirl the pan to coat.
- Heat the oil until it shimmers (just a few seconds in a hot pan) or the butter is melted and bubbly but not brown.
cook & flip trout:
- Carefully lay the trout (skin side down if using fillets) in the hot pan.
- Sear the trout, skin side down, until it is crispy and the fish is mostly cooked through.
- If you are cooking whole trout instead of fillets, you'll need to carefully flip the trout over and sear the other side.
- If you are using fried fresh sage as a garnish, you can add this to the pan when you flip the fish so it doesn't burn, or cook it separately and add when plating.
- If your whole trout are very large, you may want to finish them in a preheated medium-hot oven (350-400F) for 5-10 minutes to cook through without burning. You can also use this technique to cook the tops of fillets without flipping them, checking regularly so that they do not burn or dry out.
- Fish is done when it is opaque and the flesh is flaky if tested with a fork. Don't overcook your fish or it will be dry and tough!
plate and serve:
- Plate your fillets or serve small trout whole. Large whole trout can be filleted in the kitchen or at the table. The cooked meat should separate easily from the bones, though you may want to have a bone plate on the table for small stray bones.
- Plate or serve family style. To plate, start with a serving of yellow rice, then place the fish gently over the rice. Drizzle with the brown butter from the pan, if any remains.
- Spoon the tomato-caper salsa over the fish and rice, dividing among the portions (to serve family style, you can serve this on the side, or spoon it gently over the fish in the serving dish).
- Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and a drizzle of good olive oil, if you like.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
