Pan Fried Trout with Herbes de Provence is a simple and elegant solution to the question “what’s for dinner?”
I’ve said it before, but when there’s no plan for dinner, I almost always turn to fish. I didn’t intend to post it, but after I got home with my trout fillets last night I happened to check one of my favorite blogs, Thyme, and there it was…dinner, in all its gorgeous simplicity. I even had the Herbes de Provence leftover from my Provencal Tomatoes. Pure serendipity.
I didn’t change the recipe at all, except to use trout instead of salmon, so my fish cooked right in the pan in a couple of minutes. The baby potatoes roasted quickly in the oven.
I loved this. The caramelized herbed crust was fantastic, I usually cook with fresh herbs and had completely forgotten the unique effects you can get with dried, and I’m I’m developing an obsession with the Herbes de Provence, the combination of flavors is just outside my normal range so it seems fresh and new. The little squeeze of lime at the end was perfect.
So now you know what a food blogger does when we haven’t the slightest idea what’s for dinner… we stalk our fellow bloggers and shamelessly steal their brilliant ideas. Thanks Sarah!
Note ~ My little pot of Herbes de Provence contains Thyme, Basil, Savory, Fennel Seeds, and Lavender Flowers.
Pan Fried Trout with Herbes de Provence
Ingredients
- 2 trout filets
- Olive oil
- Herbes de Provence
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- one lemon or lime
Instructions
- Liberally coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and heat until it is quite hot, but not smoking.
- Rub more olive oil on both fish filets, and season the trout on both sides with salt and pepper. On the top side coat it well with herbes de Provence.
- Lay the fish, skin side UP in the hot pan and let cook for several minutes until the bottom is crusted and it no longer sticks. Flip the fish and cook a few minutes more until it flakes easily with a fork. Give it a good squeeze of lemon or lime before it comes out of the pan.
- Serve with lemon or lime on the side.
Sue, this fish looks really delicious and I’m NOT a fish lover. I’ve got to get me some of those herbs. I’ve seen them in the store, but haven’t picked them up yet. Thanks for the motivation!
Thanks Lynne, that’s high praise coming from a non-fish lover!
hee hee, we certainly do stalk each other. Love that fish!
Thanks Janice!
this is just stunning! I haven’t had trout in probably….20 years. Since I was a kid! But it looks amazing and my uncle and grandpa used to actually go trout fishing and bring it back for us. Truly eating locally (from northern Minnesota) where I grew up. Long ways from San Diego 🙂
My husband and his dad used to trout fish in upstate NY, and I’m not sure what the status of trout is these days, but mine was farm raised. It seems like most of the fish these days is farm raised, and I bet it doesn’t come close to the flavor of fresh wild caught.
Google hatchery in Branson MO they raise unheard of amounts of Trout that are turned loose in rivers and streams of MO”
Amen! We adore trout. This looks amazingly delicious. I usually shop once a week so buying fish to cook that night usually doesn’t happen. Guess I’m going to better prepare because I’m craving trout now. Beautiful fish!
Yeah, I visit the grocery store waaay too many times a week, and fish is one of those things I can’t stand if it’s even a day old.
This looks mmmmmm good, but, ummm, where is the recipe?
Just click through to the Thyme blog, it’s linked for you, Anginnh, the recipe is there.
Humm, a quick, easy, and delicious dinner–sounds good to me! I’ve always wanted to cook with herbes de Provence, and now I have a good excuse to give it a try!
They’re fairly new to me, too. I finally broke down and bought them and now I’m looking for reasons to use them. The Provencal Tomatoes are the easiest way.
Oh, I love it Sue! Your fish looks so flaky and moist. I’m telling you Sue…when we run out of our bags of Herbes de Provence…it’s on an airplane with us…to Provence to buy more! We must save our weeknight menus and what what we do without those herbs.
So I’m wondering if they vary or if there is a standard formula for Herbes de Provence. They must be so incredibly fresh in France, although I do have lots of lavender growing out back, I’m just not sure it’s the right kind.
See, now I don’t feel nearly so bad for stalking your tamale pie recipe within hours of you posting it! Bloggers are awesome inspiration some days. Thanks, again!
That looks fabulous. Trout is probably my favorite fish – any sort. I wish I lived close to an ocean so that I could get more fresh fish and seafood!
Just looked this up…http://www.troutnation.com/indiana-trout-fishing 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! I’ve only had trout once a very long time ago and what I remember is that it was oily. Did you find it oily or “fishy” ~ my husband’s VERY picky about his fish and I’d love to try it again if I knew he’d eat it.
Thanks!
Mary
I haven’t had trout, other than smoked trout, in a long time either. I was expecting to have to deal with little bones, but there were none. It wasn’t oily at all, and not fishy; it’s very mild, in fact. It has a smaller, denser flake than halibut or cod or salmon, so it’s a nice change of pace. Plus I just love the down home sound of ‘Pan Fried Trout’!
Thanks Sue, I’ll give it a try your recommendation!