Pecan Trout
I blame Arnaud's Restaurant for my life-long love affair with butter.
When I was 6, Mom and Dad were expecting baby #5. You can imagine the chaos in a house with four kids under the age of 7 and one on the way (two more would follow in the next four years). To give Mom a reprieve, Dad would take one of us to the office with him on Saturday. It was a special treat.
Dad's office was in the "Central Business District," an area downtown across Canal Street from the French Quarter. When it was my turn, I would pretend to answer the phone, and would play with the typewriter while Dad would catch up on work. For lunch, we would walk to one of New Orleans old line creole restaurants. My favorite was Arnaud's.
I loved the white linen table cloth, and the fancy, formal waiters. I would be handed a menu and asked about my day, and we would be brought warm French bread and butter while we made our decision. I would order a "Shirley Temple" and the Trout Almondine. The waiter would clean bread crumbs from the table with a gadget and a flick of the wrist.
Trout Almondine is a speckled trout filet, lightly dredged in flour and pan fried in butter. It is then finished with a sprinkle of toasted slivered almonds and a lemon butter sauce. *Swoon*
Several years ago, a local restaurant featured a similar preparation but with toasted pecans. It was a delicious take on a classic, and the Mr. and I were hooked. For some reason, it was taken off the menu, and shortly after that the restuarant relocated downtown, where we rarely venture these days.
About a year ago, I unsuccessfully searched for the recipe, and finally emailed the restaurant. I was told "Pecan Trout" was back on the menu, and the Mr. and I almost ran to get there. Sadly, it was not the same. They had made it with worchestershire sauce!?? So, I was determined to meet the challenge and figure the recipe out for myself.
Although this recipe can be made with any white fish (we tried catfish and snapper), speckled trout reigns supreme. And you can certainly use slivered almonds instead of pecans.
Pecan Trout
4 speckled trout filets
1/2 cup Flour
Salt and pepper
2 sticks cold butter, divided
1/3 cup diced shallots
Juice of 1 lemon plus white wine to equal 1/4 cup liquid.
1 tbsp creole mustard
1/2 cup toasted pecans (or slivered almonds)
To toast nuts, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat and stir frequently until they begin to color. You will smell them begin to toast and at this point, remove them from heat. They will burn in an instant! I also used glazed pecans (recipe from October, 2019) which I had on hand and they worked well.
For the fish, salt and pepper the trout filets on both sides, and dredge in flour. In a large skillet, melt 6 tbsp butter. Pan fry the filets in butter until golden brown on both sides, and remove to a platter. Tent with foil while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, in the same pan, saute the diced shallots until soft. Add the lemon juice/white wine and stir until almost all of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the mustard. Now, reduce the heat to low, and wisk in the remaining cold butter 1 tbsp at a time. The butter should barely melt into a creamy sauce. If it starts to "break" and look oily, remove it from heat completely and throw in another tbsp cold butter and keep wisking. If the pan seems too hot, you can finish the process by wisking the sauce in a metal bowl.
To serve, sprinkle toasted nuts over the fish, and ladle with the lemon butter sauce. We served the fish with zucchini noodles to rave reviews.
When I was 6, Mom and Dad were expecting baby #5. You can imagine the chaos in a house with four kids under the age of 7 and one on the way (two more would follow in the next four years). To give Mom a reprieve, Dad would take one of us to the office with him on Saturday. It was a special treat.
Dad's office was in the "Central Business District," an area downtown across Canal Street from the French Quarter. When it was my turn, I would pretend to answer the phone, and would play with the typewriter while Dad would catch up on work. For lunch, we would walk to one of New Orleans old line creole restaurants. My favorite was Arnaud's.
I loved the white linen table cloth, and the fancy, formal waiters. I would be handed a menu and asked about my day, and we would be brought warm French bread and butter while we made our decision. I would order a "Shirley Temple" and the Trout Almondine. The waiter would clean bread crumbs from the table with a gadget and a flick of the wrist.
Trout Almondine is a speckled trout filet, lightly dredged in flour and pan fried in butter. It is then finished with a sprinkle of toasted slivered almonds and a lemon butter sauce. *Swoon*
Several years ago, a local restaurant featured a similar preparation but with toasted pecans. It was a delicious take on a classic, and the Mr. and I were hooked. For some reason, it was taken off the menu, and shortly after that the restuarant relocated downtown, where we rarely venture these days.
About a year ago, I unsuccessfully searched for the recipe, and finally emailed the restaurant. I was told "Pecan Trout" was back on the menu, and the Mr. and I almost ran to get there. Sadly, it was not the same. They had made it with worchestershire sauce!?? So, I was determined to meet the challenge and figure the recipe out for myself.
Although this recipe can be made with any white fish (we tried catfish and snapper), speckled trout reigns supreme. And you can certainly use slivered almonds instead of pecans.
Pecan Trout
4 speckled trout filets
1/2 cup Flour
Salt and pepper
2 sticks cold butter, divided
1/3 cup diced shallots
Juice of 1 lemon plus white wine to equal 1/4 cup liquid.
1 tbsp creole mustard
1/2 cup toasted pecans (or slivered almonds)
To toast nuts, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat and stir frequently until they begin to color. You will smell them begin to toast and at this point, remove them from heat. They will burn in an instant! I also used glazed pecans (recipe from October, 2019) which I had on hand and they worked well.
For the fish, salt and pepper the trout filets on both sides, and dredge in flour. In a large skillet, melt 6 tbsp butter. Pan fry the filets in butter until golden brown on both sides, and remove to a platter. Tent with foil while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, in the same pan, saute the diced shallots until soft. Add the lemon juice/white wine and stir until almost all of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the mustard. Now, reduce the heat to low, and wisk in the remaining cold butter 1 tbsp at a time. The butter should barely melt into a creamy sauce. If it starts to "break" and look oily, remove it from heat completely and throw in another tbsp cold butter and keep wisking. If the pan seems too hot, you can finish the process by wisking the sauce in a metal bowl.
To serve, sprinkle toasted nuts over the fish, and ladle with the lemon butter sauce. We served the fish with zucchini noodles to rave reviews.
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