Pan-Fried Trout with Lemon Butter and Green Beans
Golden trout fillets finished with a bright lemon butter pan sauce, served with tender potatoes and snappy green beans. A fresh, high-protein dinner that comes together on the stovetop.
- Total
- 40 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Pan sauce
- Savory
- French
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Cut the potatoes into 3 cm chunks. Put them in the large pot with 500 ml water and 0.5 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Drain in the colander and set aside.
~15 min
Cutting potatoes into uniform chunks ensures they cook at the same rate, so none turn mushy before the rest are tender.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the potatoes cook, trim the green beans and zest the lemon into a small pile, then cut the lemon in half. Roughly chop the almonds. Pat the trout fillets dry and season both sides with the remaining 0.5 tsp salt and the black pepper.
~8 min
-
Toast the chopped almonds in the small dry pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden. Tip them onto a plate.
~3 min
Toasting nuts in a dry pan activates Maillard browning, deepening their flavor and making them crispier.
-
Melt 10 g butter in the large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Lay in the trout fillets skin-side down and cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes, until the skin is crisp and releases easily. Flip and cook 2 minutes more, until the fish flakes and reaches 63°C in the thickest part. Transfer to a plate.
~7 min
Cooking skin-side down first and undisturbed lets the skin dry and crisp through direct contact, while the 63°C target ensures safe, moist fish.
Pat the trout skin very dry and press it flat in the pan for the first 20 seconds: any moisture turns to steam and the skin will not crisp.
Searing Pat the fish very dry and press it flat for the first 20 seconds; a hot pan and no movement give a crisp, golden crust that releases easily.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the green beans to the same pan with 2 tbsp water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing, until bright green and just tender. Push them to one side, add the remaining 20 g butter, the lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon. Stir to lift the browned bits into a glossy sauce.
~5 min
Adding water and scraping the pan deglazes it, dissolving browned bits into the sauce for extra flavor.
Add the lemon juice off the heat once the butter has melted, so the sauce stays bright instead of turning bitter.
Pan sauce After cooking the beans, add butter, zest, and lemon juice off the heat, stirring to lift the browned bits into a glossy, bright sauce without bitterness.
-
Return the trout to the pan and spoon the lemon butter sauce over it. Serve with the potatoes and green beans, scattered with the toasted almonds and a squeeze from the remaining lemon half.
~2 min