From the Pinot Grigio chapter of “100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love” by Jill Silverman Hough (Wiley, 2011)
Quick-cooking, flavorful, and readily available, rainbow trout is a great seafood option. This particular preparation can be ready in about fifteen minutes—and is especially pretty if you use a medley of cherry tomato shapes and colors.
You might also like this post on my favorite types of fish and seafood or this one with 5 tips for delicious fish.
Serves 4
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, ideally a combination of colors and shapes (larger ones quartered)
- 1 large shallot, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons white or golden balsamic vinegar (see below)
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus 8 sprigs
- 3 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- Four 10- to 12-ounce whole rainbow trout, heads and tails removed if you’d like (see below)
In a medium bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, shallot, vinegar, chopped rosemary, 4 teaspoons of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Set aside. (You can prepare the relish up to 2 hours in advance, storing it covered at room temperature.)
Sprinkle the trout inside and out with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stuff each trout with 2 sprigs of the rosemary. In each of 2 large skillets over medium-high heat, warm 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil. Add the trout and cook until well browned and barely opaque, about 3 1/2 minutes per side.
Serve hot, with the tomato relish on top.
NOTES You could say that white or golden balsamic vinegar is to balsamic vinegar as white grape juice is to grape juice—they’re similar, but the white version is lighter and fruitier. You can find white or golden balsamic in most supermarkets and wherever regular balsamic is sold. Besides using it in this recipe, you can use it whenever you use vinegar, including many of your favorite salad dressings.
Sometimes a whole rainbow trout will be boneless, and sometimes it won’t. No matter which kind your local fishmonger has, this recipe will work, using the same cooking times.
