Pan fried trout with crisp ham (Trucha con jamon)

 

Rainbow trout is up there in my top 3 fish choices. I think they're beautiful, they are easy to fillet, they have a milder (but still flavourful) taste than salmon and a beautiful, slightly softer texture. This recipe is from Rick Stein's SPAIN book and couldn't be more simple. Pop 2 slices of fried Serrano ham into the belly cavity with a little salt, dust the fish with flour and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until brown then pop in the oven at 200C for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up a slice of the ham and crisp up in a frying pan with butter, parsley and garlic to pour over the trout. Squeeze with lemon, and it's done. Serve with potatoes or flake into a creamy pasta. Isn't this one so shiny and beautiful? I got it from Barnes market for £3.50 which I think is pretty good as its a biggun. Then my friend and I ate fresh pizza on a bench, in the rain. Lovely.