sweets in the kitchen: baked trout with lemon butter

The title of this post might sound like an oxymoron, given the bit about 'sweets' and the follow up about 'baked trout'.  No, I didn't come up with some uber crazy dessert idea involving fish heads and simple syrup.

I came up with the uber amazing idea to feature recipes made by my other half.  The one in my household known as Sweets (just to me, though, as far as I know).  She's a creative genious and an amazing cook, whose passion about food inspires me everyday.

She taught me how to cook meat, dice an onion, and smash a clove of garlic before mincing. She introduced me to the wonders of Jacque Pepin, Ming Tsai, and Lidia Bastianich on daytime public access television. She is the guinea pig for my recipes.  She gives the most honest straight-forward feedback I've ever heard (weak-willed beware!).  She's just as delighted as I am to wander around Sur la Table, daydreaming about the All Clad cookware that our blue collar paychecks will never allow us.  She's always game for trying new things, eating new foods, and humoring me, even when she's sure I'm out of my god-damn mind.

I want you all to meet her.  Through her food, anyway.

So welcome to the first installment of Sweets in the Kitchen.

Last night she made us each a whole baked trout, stuffed with lemons, garlic, and butter.  Our fishies were wrapped up in foil and baked until tender and melting.  It was the best fish I've eaten since Alaska. 

We both agree that buying whole fish is way more economical and much more delicious.  The skin helps to seal the moisture into the flesh, for a more moist finished product.  The fish we bought were already headless and gutted, so the messy work was taken care of.  Don't be afraid!  You too can eat a whole fish!  Once cooked, the skin will peel off easily. Just watch for bones!

One thing to keep in mind about my sweetheart, is that she is a cook in the truest sense of the word.  When it comes to measuring, keeping time, and other elements of precision, she'd just rather not (yes, she's the yin to my yang).  So, the amounts and times on the recipes for Sweets in the Kitchen are estimations made by me. Go with your gut, folks. If it seems off, do what you think will give you the best results!

Baked Trout with Lemon Butter

serves 2

gluten-free

2 whole trout, cleaned and gutted

salt and pepper

3 T. butter, melted

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

1 large clove garlic, minced

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Rinse fish inside and out, pat dry and place each on a seperate piece of aluminum foil, large enough to wrap around each fish entirely. 
• Score each fish by making 3 diagonal slices about 1/2" deep through the skin with a sharp knife.
• Season the fish generously with salt both inside the cavity and on the skin. Do the same with pepper. Brush both the inside and outside of the fish with melted butter, and place half of the lemon slices and half of the garlic inside each.
• Wrap foil loosely around each fish, without making a tight seal.  Place each foil packet on a baking sheet and bake until fish is just cooked, about 15 minutes.  The fish will continue to cook once it's out of the oven.
• Remove from foil and serve whole fish.