Pan-Seared Trout with Toasted Almonds & Lemon

Name: Pan-Seared Trout with Toasted Almonds & Lemon
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 fillets
Ingredients: 4 trout fillets (about 6 oz each), skin on, pin bones removed (680 g); ¾ tsp kosher salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp olive oil; ⅓ cup sliced almonds (35 g); 1 tbsp butter; 1 lemon, juiced, plus wedges to serve; 2 tbsp chopped parsley

The River Lord's Catch

Crisp-skinned trout with a spoonful of almonds toasted golden in a little butter and lemon. Fish and almonds were court food across medieval Europe, and it takes fifteen minutes.

Fork or mugProtein-forward

Prep10 min

Cook15 min

Total25 min

Yield4 fillets

At the table: Serve within 30 minutes. Fish waits badly, so cook it last.

Not yet table-tested. This recipe is written from standard, well-known methods and has not been through our test tables yet. The badge changes when it has.

Crafting formula

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Prestige ranks

As written: seared fillets with lemon almonds.
Brown the butter before the almonds go in, until nutty and amber, and finish the pan sauce with lemon and a spoon of capers.
Buy whole trout and fillet them yourself, and simmer the frames into a fish stock for tomorrow's pottage.
Plate each fillet on buttered leeks with a ribbon of almond cream (soaked almonds blended smooth) and a small herb salad.

Cooking at Hearth. The dish as written. Simple, honest, done well.

Stock your pantry to see what you are missing.

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Why nowTrout is mild, quick to cook and full of the omega-3 fats in oily fish, and farmed rainbow trout is one of the more sustainable choices at the counter.

Pan-Seared Trout with Toasted Almonds & Lemon — Illustration generated with AI, not a photo of this recipe.

Ingredients

Party size

As written: 4 fillets.

Kosher salt means Diamond Crystal. With Morton kosher salt, use about half.

Method

Pat the fish very dry with paper towels. Season both sides with the salt and pepper, then dust the skin side lightly with flour and tap off the excess.
Look forDry skin is crisp skin. Wash your hands after handling raw fish.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the fillets in skin-side down, away from you, and press each one flat with a spatula for 10 seconds. Cook without moving them for 3 to 4 minutes.
Look forThe skin is golden and the flesh has turned opaque most of the way up the side.
Turn the fillets and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Move them to plates, skin side up.
Look forThe thickest part flakes with a fork and reads 145°F.
Wipe out the pan and lower the heat to medium. Add the butter and almonds and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and parsley, and spoon over the fish.
Look forThe almonds are golden and smell toasty. They burn fast, so pull the pan off the moment they color.

Make ahead

Best cooked just before you eat. Toast the almonds an hour ahead if you like and warm them in the butter at the end.

Holding

Serve within 30 minutes. Fish waits badly, so cook it last.

Allergens

Contains fish, tree nuts (almonds), wheat (flour), milk (butter). Always check labels on packaged ingredients.

Notes

Gluten-free: skip the flour. The skin crisps a little less.

Dairy-free: toast the almonds in olive oil instead of butter.

Any thin, skin-on fillet works: arctic char, sea bass or salmon (salmon needs a minute or two longer).

Tavern Night

This dish's twist table (d6)

1–2	The classic stands. No twist. Cook it as written.
3	Herb swap. Swap the parsley for dill or chervil
4	Acid strike. A spoon of capers in the almond butter
5	Plating challenge. Serve on a bed of buttered leeks
6	Host's boon. The Host picks any twist above, or the table invents one. The safety rule still applies.

Roll before you start cooking. No twist ever changes a time, a temperature or how done something must be.