A homemade dish inspired by global fish traditions: the rainbow trout stays clean-tasting, pearly, and crisp-skinned, lifted by brown butter with sliced almonds, green beans, and a Mediterranean touch of balsamic.
Ingredients
- 320 g very fresh rainbow trout fillets with skin
- 300 g fresh fine green beans
- 35 g sliced almonds
- 25 g almond flour
- 70 g good-quality unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 piece small red onion
- 1 tbsp Modena balsamic vinegar
- 1 piece unwaxed lemon
- 0.25 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- to taste ground cayenne pepper
Method
- Take the trout fillets out of the refrigerator, pat both sides thoroughly dry, and check that no bones remain. Season the flesh lightly with salt and pepper, then let it come briefly to room temperature: the surface should feel dry, which is essential for crisp skin.
- Prepare the green beans: trim the ends, then cook them in a large pot of salted boiling water until intensely green and still firm to the bite. Cool them immediately in very cold water, then drain and dry them. They should remain straight, glossy, and crisp, not wrinkled.
- Thinly slice the red onion and finely chop the parsley. Take a little zest from the lemon, then reserve the lemon for finishing. Put the almond flour on a plate and add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Dust only the flesh side of the fillets with the almond flour, then tap off the excess. The coating should be thin and uneven, not a thick breading: the aim is a golden grip that respects the fish's texture.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Place the fillets skin-side down first and press gently with a spatula at the beginning to keep them from curling. Cook until the skin crackles, turns golden, and the edges of the flesh begin to turn opaque.
- Lower the heat slightly, turn the fillets, and finish cooking on the flesh side. Remove them as soon as the center remains pearly and separates into broad flakes under light pressure. Set them on a warm plate, skin-side up to preserve the crispness.
- In the same skillet, add the butter and let it foam over medium heat. When the foam becomes fine, the butter smells nutty, and it turns amber-gold, add the sliced almonds. Stir them until the edges are golden and they make a faint sound against the pan.
- Add the red onion to the almond brown butter and let it just soften without melting it completely. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar: the pan should whisper, the vinegar should blend with the butter into a glossy, short sauce that coats lightly but is never syrupy.
- Add the green beans to the skillet and quickly roll them in the almond butter. They should warm through, turn glossy, and retain their bite. Finish with the lemon zest, a splash of lemon juice, pepper, and a little parsley.
- Arrange the green beans in the center of the plates to make a neat bed. Place the trout on top, with the crisp skin visible. Spoon the almond and red-onion brown butter around the fish, not over the entire skin. Finish with a few well-browned almonds and a little parsley.
- Serve immediately. The final benchmark is pearly fish, skin that crackles under the fork, crisp green beans, and a short, glossy sauce that perfumes the plate without drowning the trout.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 730.6 kcal
- Protein
- 41 g
- Carbohydrate
- 22.98 g
- Fat
- 55.4 g
- Fibre
- 10.26 g
- Calcium
- 140.98 mg
- Iron
- 2.56 mg
- Magnesium
- 89.73 mg