Pan-fried trout with dill, parsley and lemon potatoes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 800g new potatoes
• 4 trout fillets
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Small handful dill, finely chopped
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the potatoes going

Put the new potatoes into a large pan of well-salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15–20 minutes, or until tender all the way through, then drain well. Leave them to steam dry for a minute or two so they are not carrying extra water into the pan for no good reason.

2. Dress the potatoes

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut any larger ones in half. Tip them into a bowl and add half the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, most of the dill and parsley, the garlic, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Toss everything together gently. They should feel bright and herby rather than weighed down.

3. Prep the trout

Pat the trout fillets dry with kitchen paper, then season both sides with salt and black pepper. Dry fish and a hot pan is the difference between nicely golden and slightly apologetic.

4. Pan-fry the trout

Heat the remaining olive oil and the butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the trout fillets skin-side down. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden, then turn and cook for another 1–2 minutes on the other side until just cooked through. Trout is best when treated gently – overdo it and it will let you know.

5. Finish everything properly

Take the pan off the heat and squeeze over the remaining lemon juice. Scatter over the rest of the lemon zest and herbs. Give the potatoes a final taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

6. Serve

Spoon the lemon potatoes onto plates and sit the trout alongside or on top. Spoon over any buttery juices from the pan and serve straight away while everything still feels fresh, warm and exactly as it should.

A couple of helpful notes

- If your trout fillets are especially small, reduce the cooking time slightly so they do not dry out.
- A handful of peas or some wilted greens on the side would fit in very nicely here.
- Waxy potatoes work best for this – something that holds its shape rather than collapsing at the first sign of heat.