June 06, 2010

Mushroom and Artichoke Stuffed Trout

Last time I went to my egg lady she gave me a beautiful whole trout all cleaned and ready to go. I guess it was 2-3 lbs. She had just come back from fishing and these were just cleaned. It don't get any fresher than that! 
And so I thought a nice stuffing would be awesome with it so I searched around online. I found this one. I changed a few things and those changes will be in (  ). But I did find it rather bland, so next time I think Ill use marinated artichoke hearts instead and perhaps more herbs. It was a good recipe tho with all my favorite things, so Ill most likely make it again if I get more fish from her.

Mushroom and Artichoke Stuffed Trout

Serves 4
  • 1 tablespoon  butter
  • 1/2 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning ( I omitted the salt cuz I'm trying to use less but I'm sorry I did, it needs it)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup fish or shrimp stock (I used white wine, since I had neither around)
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream (I used fat free half and half since that's all I had in the house)
  • 1 cup artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped chives
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
  • 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole trout, cleaned
  • 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the butter in a large skillet until foamy. Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft and they have released their liquid, about 4 minutes.
 Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated and shallots are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and fish stock and cook until almost evaporated, 2 minutes.
Add the heavy cream and artichoke hearts and cook until heated through and the cream has evaporated a bit, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the parsley, chives, and enough bread crumbs to tighten mixture.
Season the inside cavity of the trout well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stuff the cavity of the trout with the stuffing and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange half of the lemon slices on top of the stuffing mixture, in the cavity. 
 Drizzle the outside of the trout with the extra-virgin olive oil and season the fish on the outside with salt and pepper,to taste. Arrange the remaining lemon slices on top of the fish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily and the stuffing is cooked through.
I served this with a simple salad with tomatoes since there's so many veggies in the stuffing already. It was quite filling.

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