Panfried Garlic Trout with Zucchini

Although I didn’t fish this summer I was lucky enough to be gifted some rainbow trout: two from my dad and one big one from my Uncle Peter and niece Courtney.

For this recipe I tried to recreate a fish dish I had in Mexico once, which had a lot of garlic and olive oil on it.  This turned out a little different, partly because I don’t know how to fillet and served the fish whole, but it was its own kind of awesome.  The sauce was great on the fish, and also made this my new favourite way to serve zucchini.  Good thing there’s so much coming up in my garden right now!

What you need:

• 1 large trout for 2 people (or course you can try this with other fish)
• 1 head of garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)
• 2 small zucchini or one larger one

What you do:

1. Chop all except two cloves of the garlic to a medium-small size.  Chopping is preferable to using a garlic press because the press makes it mushy, and you want to have some pieces of garlic for this recipe.
2. Heat a large frying pan (large enough to fit the fish) to medium and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  When it is hot add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, until it is lightly browned.  Pour  the garlic and oil into a bowl and add the chicken broth and salt to it.  If your broth was salty you won’t need to add much or any salt.
3. Start the grill.  Of course you don’t need to use a grill because you’re going to cook in a frying pan, but I don’t like my home to smell like fish so I chose to cook it outside. I cooked the garlic inside, but this can also be done on the grill.
4. Cut the zucchini on a diagonal about 2 cm thick.
5. Season the fish with salt and pepper, inside the cavity of the fish if you’ve got a whole one, or just on top if you have fillets.
6. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, let it heat, then add the 2 cloves of garlic which you have cut in half.  Let this cook until the garlic has begun to brown.
7. When the grill is hot put the frying on it and place the fish in it, keeping the olive oil and large garlic pieces in the pan, and put the lid down.  Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.  When it is done remove the fish from the pan to a serving plate and cover to keep warm.
8. Place the zucchini slices in the frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side, so it is still firm in the inside.  Add half of the garlic and chicken broth sauce and stir to coat the zucchini. Let the sauce heat up for a minute or so.
9. Spoon some garlic sauce into the cavity of the fish, then arrange the zucchini around the fish on the platter.

Bon appetit!