Trout Almondine

Trout almondine stems from amandine, the French term meaning “prepared or served with almonds.” In French cuisine, amandine is typically made with Dover sole, but it's expensive and can be difficult to find. Here in the US, particularly in New Orleans Creole cuisine, the amandine method became popular with more widely available speckled trout, although any thin white-fleshed fish will work in this recipe. During the 1960s, the amandine technique spread from New Orleans to restaurants throughout the United States, where they continued to prepare it with trout while extending the almond treatment to even more foods like green beans, flounder, and scallops.

Amandine preparation is a variation of the classic à la meunière, where a thin protein, often fish, is topped in a lemony browned butter pan sauce. It traditionally starts with dredging the seasoned fish in flour, browning it in a skillet, transferring the cooked fish to serving dishes and spooning the rich browned butter sauce, along with toasted almonds, on top. The fish, sauce, and almonds are all prepared in one skillet and the result is tender, flaky fish swimming in the most heavenly, nutty butter sauce.

2 whole trout (about 12 oz. each), cleaned
1/3 c. flour
4 Tbsp. butter (2 Tbsp. for frying fish and 2 for the toasting the almonds)
1/4 c. slivered almonds
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving

Rinse the trout and pat dry. Put the flour in a large plastic bag and season with salt and pepper. Place the trout, one at a time, in the bag and shake to coat with flour. Shake off the excess flour from the fish and discard the remaining flour.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it is foamy, add the trout and cook for 6-7 minutes on each side, until golden brown and the flesh next to the bone is opaque. Transfer the fish to warmed plates and cover to keep warm or place in a warm (200° F) oven.

Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter to the pan and cook the almonds until lightly browned. Add the wine to the pan and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until slightly syrupy. Pour or spoon over the fish, garnish with lemon wedges and serve at once.

Serves 2