Pan Fried Trout with Roasted Vegetables

I was trolling the grocery store and saw one lone fish in the cold case, waiting to be taken home. A single rainbow trout. Into the cart he went. I looked for several recipes and ultimate decided on an adaptation of Wolfgang Puck’s recipe from the Food Network because I had all the accompanying ingredients on hand and it seemed very straight forward. I like straight-forward.

Let’s make trout and roasted vegetables for dinner, shall we?


Into the pan goes just a few each of baby cut carrots, red small potatoes, brussels sprouts, yam, and spring onion, with one thyme sprig and a bit of olive oil, for a quick saute. After they’ve turned just a bit golden, they’ll be taken from the fire and added to my toaster oven to continue to roast, while I prepare the fish.


I’m sorry, that I have to cut your head off, I really am. Next, we’ll trim the gills and fins, and remove the head. We’ll also cut three or four gashes into the sides, for seasoning.


Dredge the cleaned trout in seasoned flour. I used Dixie Fry. I’ve never understood why we take this step. My mother did, my grandmother did — and so I do as well. Why do we dredge the outside of a fish in flour, to create a crust, if we are not going to eat the crusty skin? It gets peeled off. Am I missing something here? Does it really flavor the flesh that much? Comments appreciated.


We’ll saute one side of the fish for 3-5 minutes, in a bit of olive oil and butter, until one side is brown and crusty. Flip it over, add another knob of butter and a few sage leaves, and saute the other side for 3-5 minutes, basting the fish with the sage butter (inside and on top).


As the fish is nearly down, take the roasted vegetables out of the oven, where they've become brown and toasty.


Plate the vegetables, trout, and sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon.

Verdict: Delicious!
Skill: Easy
Repeat? Definately