Trout in Brown Butter with Capers
A French bistro classic ready in 15 minutes.
The butter should go brown, but not black. As it heats, the milk proteins in it brown and develop a hazelnut flavour — hence the name beurre noisette. The shift from nutty to bitter takes seconds, and you catch it with your nose rather than your eyes: as soon as it smells of hazelnut, the lemon juice goes in and stops everything.
Which is why the butter is split: part for frying, the rest only in the last minute. Elegant, with minimal effort — the dinner for two.
Ingredients
- 2 fresh trout fillets
- 50 g good-quality butter
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1/2 lemon (juice and slices)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh dill, to taste
Method
- 1
Season the fillets and brush both sides with part of the butter, melted beforehand.
- 2
Sear the trout in a preheated pan over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes a side, until the flesh is opaque and starts to flake.
- 3
A minute before taking it off, add the rest of the butter and let it take a dark colour without burning — as soon as it smells of hazelnut, that is the point. Add the capers, deglaze with the lemon juice and finish with chopped fresh dill.