Toasted Garlic Trout with Lime
March 22, 2009 by Kate Heyhoe
Serves 2
From Kate Heyhoe’s Cooking Green
Green Meter:
- Green Goodness: Sustainable fish, often local; use of preblanched garlic saves fuel
- Prep/Cooking Times: 5 minutes prep +10 minutes cooking
- Prime Season: Year-round
- Conveniences: Quick ‘n’ easy; healthy, high in omega-3s
- New Green Basic: Use as a basic recipe for skillet trout; use the blanched, toasted garlic method in other skillet recipes. Substitute fillets for butterflied trout.
Rainbow trout is often overlooked but has a wonderfully mild yet distinctive flavor. The Environmental Defense Fund rates farmed rainbow trout as an “eco-best” fish because of its minimal impact on the environment. In this recipe, garlic cloves, mellowed by blanching, toast in the pan for a sweet crunch that harmonizes well with trout and lime. To save fuel and water, blanch the garlic whenever you’re boiling water for another use, up to four days earlier. If you increase the number of trout, you’ll probably need two skillets.
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 rainbow trout, cleaned and butterflied (3/4 to 1 pound)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 large cloves blanched garlic, halved lengthwise (see Note)
- Lime wedges, for serving
1. Pour the lime juice into a shallow dish. Dip the trout into the lime juice, coating on all sides. Sprinkle the inside (flesh part) with cumin and a generous pinch of salt. Close the fillets (as if closing a book) and sprinkle cumin and salt on the skin surfaces.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to ripple, gently place both trout into the pan, keeping them closed. Add the garlic cloves, pushing the garlic to the sides of the pan. Cook the trout about 5 minutes, flipping the pieces over when the skin is crisp and golden. Cook another 5 minutes or so, until the inside flesh is cooked through (it will flake when gently prodded). While the trout cooks, stir the garlic pieces occasionally, until the edges become slightly crisp and start to color. (If garlic browns too much it turns bitter, so remove it when golden, and set aside.)
3. Remove the trout from the pan. Spoon toasted garlic on top of each piece, and serve with lime wedges.
Note: To blanch garlic, place whole unpeeled garlic cloves in boiling water and leave in for 2 minutes. Remove from the water and peel (the peels should slip off easily). Refrigerate up to four days.
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