SUN VALLEY SAUTÉED TROUT WITH GRAPEFRUIT

SOURCE: PIERRE FRANEY AND RICHARD FLASTE. PIERRE FRANEY’S COOKING IN AMERICA.

Although browsing through the modern dining menus in the official website of Sun Valley Lodge may no longer find any gastronomic vestiges or norms of the past, the chefs of the namesake ski resort city in Idaho were once obsessed with trout, according to Pierre Franey. This craze was evident by the fact that the restaurant kitchens used to have a scheduled Truite du Jour list like this simple sauté complemented by the citrus tang of grapefruit, the cool scent of mint, and the boozy essence of a vodka shot. Who could blame these culinary geniuses for previously harboring a soft pescophile spot when roughly three quarters of the trout hatcheries in the United States are just within their reach inside the Gem State?

Ingredients

4 rainbow trout, weighing 3/4 pound/340 grams each, butterflied with bones, heads, and tails removed

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons/30 mL olive oil OR 2 tablespoons/30 grams clarified butter or ghee

12 grapefruit segments, with membranes removed and cut into quarters,

1 tablespoon/9 grams finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons/20 grams finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon/2 grams finely chopped peppermint leaves, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

4 sprigs lemon thyme, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results, OR 1 teaspoon/1 gram dried thyme

1 tablespoon/15 mL freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon/45 mL vodka, preferably lemon-flavored or lemon-infused

2 tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter

Parslied Cucumbers

2 large and firm cucumbers

4 tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter

4 tablespoons/15 grams finely chopped parsley, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon

4 sprigs parsley OR chiffonade of basil leaves, preferably picked fresh on the same day, for garnish

Specific Equipment

Wide-bottomed nonstick sauté pan or skillet, large enough to hold all trout in one layer

Saucepan

Colander or strainer

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Season the trout with salt and pepper. Heat the oil or butter or ghee in a nonstick sauté pan or skillet over high heat. Lay over the trout, flesh side down ans sauté for 1 1/2 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn the trout over on the other side and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the trout from the pan or skillet and set aside on a individual warm serving plates.

2. Skim off the excess oil in the pan. Add two-third of the grapefruit pieces, garlic, shallots, mint, and thyme and cook for 1 minute just to warm through. Do not brown the garlic. Stir in the lemon juice and vodka.

3. Remove the pan or skillet from the heat and blend in the butter. Set the sauce aside.

4. Trim off the ends of the cucumbers and cut into 2-inch/5-cm lengths. Quarter each section lengthwise. Peel away the green skin from each segment, if desired, and remove the seeds.

5. Blanch the cucumbers over a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 1 minute. Drain the cucumber thoroughly over a colander.

6. Return the cucumbers to the saucepan over low heat. Stir in the butter and parsley, and season with salt and pepper according to taste. Add the lemon juice and continue tossing for 1 minute or until the butter has completely melted.

7. Spoon a portion of each sauce over the trout and a little around it. Garnish the trout with an arrangement of cucumbers and parsley sprigs or basil leaves and the rest of the grapefruit pieces.