Trout is a special fish that requires careful preparation. Its tender meat and delicate taste can deteriorate if you overexpose the fish in the oven at least a little or give it a high temperature.
When using trout in cooking, you need to follow all the necessary rules in order to end up with a delicious and juicy dish that will become a real highlight for both a family dinner and a festive table.
Try not to buy frozen fish, as it has already largely lost its taste and aroma from the beginning.
This recipe is for 4 servings. For trout baked in the oven, you will need the following components:
- 0.8 kg of fresh trout fillet;
- half a large head of onion;
- 1 tsp grated ginger. It is also better to make this spice just before cooking by grating ginger on a fine grater;
- a clove of garlic;
- a large ripe tomato;
- 1 tbsp. quality soy sauce;
- 1 lemon with a thin skin;
- greens (basil, parsley, dill, young green onions
If you are buying whole trout, rainbow trout are the best choice as they are very easy to peel.
Step-by-step instructions for cooking baked trout in the oven
Chop the onion into thin half rings, chop the garlic clove with a garlic press, or finely chop with a knife, peel the tomatoes by holding them in a water bath and cut into small cubes. Wash all the greens and chop finely enough.
Grease a baking sheet with sides with a small amount of vegetable oil (preferably olive oil) and put prepared trout fillet on it. Pour on top of the fish with soy sauce and lemon juice in equal amounts, evenly distributing them over the entire surface. Then season with salt and pepper to taste. It should be remembered that the fish is already salted due to the soy sauce, so you should not add too much salt. Too much spice can kill the main flavor of the trout.
Then you need to create a kind of "hat": put garlic, ginger, lemon zest, onion rings and a tomato on the fish. Sprinkle with finely chopped herbs on top. You can add other greens to the basic set, for example, cilantro.
Put the baking sheet in the oven, preheated to a temperature of 190-200 degrees, after sprinkling the trout with olive oil. The fish is baked for about 20 minutes. In no case should you raise the temperature or overexpose the dish in the oven, as the meat will lose its juiciness and become tough and tasteless.
The finished fillet should be laid out very carefully so as not to destroy the “cap” of vegetables and seasonings. Top each portion with juice, which formed on the baking sheet during baking. A little tip: the integrity of the portion will be preserved by the foil, into which each piece of fillet will be placed. It is not necessary to close it tightly, it is enough just to form the sides so that the juice does not leak out.
The dish is served hot. It is best to use baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with green peas, or rice as a side dish. Optionally, in addition, you can also prepare a delicate creamy sauce, which will only emphasize the noble taste of the trout, and will not kill it.
