Baked Trout with Yogurt & Herbs
Submitted by hungry1
Whole rainbow trout baked in a creamy yogurt and herb sauce with parsley, chives, fennel, thyme, oregano, and tarragon. An elegant British-style fish supper ready in under an hour.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
25 minREADY
60 minThis is the sort of dish you’d find at a proper English country supper, and it’s far simpler than it looks.
Whole rainbow trout get a quick sear to crisp the skin, then nestle into a baking dish and wait for their blanket of herbed yogurt sauce. Greek yogurt, heavy cream, and a garden’s worth of fresh herbs (parsley, chives, fennel, thyme, oregano, tarragon) are gently warmed together until fragrant, then poured over the fish.
Twenty-five minutes at 350°F and the trout is cooked through, the sauce is bubbling, and the herbs have perfumed everything they’ve touched.
Serve with steamed new potatoes, young carrots, and peas for the full English countryside experience.
Chef Tips
- Dry the fish thoroughly with kitchen paper before searing. Wet skin steams instead of crisping.
- Bring everything to room temperature before the final bake. The recipe is clear about this: cold fish straight from the fridge takes much longer to heat through and cooks unevenly.
- Stir the sauce constantly as you warm it. Yogurt can split if it hits high heat too fast. Keep it just below a simmer and you’ll be fine.
- Check behind the head with a knife tip. If the flesh flakes easily there, the thickest part of the fish is done.
Ingredients
Directions
Choose a baking dish or other shallow oven-proof dish suitable for bringing to table, which is just large enough to take the trout in a single layer when they are arranged head to tail.
Thoroughly dry the fish with plenty of kitchen paper.
Make a frying pan very hot, barely smear it with fat and fry the fish briefly, one or two at a time, just long enough to brown their skins well on both sides.
Transfer the fish to the ovenproof dish, arranging them neatly.
Cover and store in a cool place.
Chop the herbs and mix them gently in a small saucepan.
Measure the yoghurt and cream and pour them over the herbs.
Add plenty of pepper and some salt and stir to mix well.
Cover and leave to infuse.
Everything up to this stage can be done in advance, but be sure to bring both the pan of sauce and the dish of trout back to room temperature about 1 hour before they are to be put back into the oven for cooking.
(Foods that are transferred straight from the fridge to cooker take a very long time to heat through properly.)
About ½ hour before you plan to serve the trout, bring the yoghurt-and- herb mixture very slowly to simmering point, stirring all the while.
Pour the aromatic mixture over the fish, cover the dish and bake at 350℉ (180℃) (180 C) gas mark 4 for 20 to 25 minutes until the fish are piping hot and cooked through.
(To check a trout for readiness, insert the tip of a knife into its flesh just behind the head.)
Serve with steamed new potatoes and other young summer vegetables such as carrots and peas.
Comments
