Fried Trout stuffed with Mushrooms, Garlic and Bacon

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

• 4 trout (300gm each, filleted)
• 40 g butter
• 60g streaky bacon (chopped)
• 200g portabello mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsp parsley (roughly chopped)
• 30g flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the Beurre Noisette:

• 75g butter
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp parsley (chopped)

Method

Melt butter in a large frying pan, add bacon and cook until lightly coloured. Add the mushrooms and garlic and toss over medium-high heat for 1 minute until lightly cooked. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
Lay the trout on a chopping board and pull back the top fillet on each one. Season the cut face of the fillets with salt and pepper, and then cover the bottom fillet with a small amount of the mushroom and bacon mixture. Sprinkle with a little parsley, cover with the top fillet and tie round the whole fish in two places with fine string to hold everything in place.

Season the outside of each fish with salt and pepper, then dredge with the flour and pat off the excess. Heat the olive oil in one large frying pan, over a moderate heat. Add the fish and fry for 2 1/2 minutes without moving them, until nicely golden. Carefully turn the fish over and cook for another 2 1/2 minutes, until golden brown on the second side and cooked through. Lift the fish onto warmed plates.

Discard the frying oil and wipe clean. Add the butter for the beurre noisette and allow it to melt over a moderate heat. As soon as the butter starts to smell nutty and turns light brown, add the lemon juice, parsley and some seasoning. Pour some of the butter over each fish and serve.