Mario Matassa brings us this trout dish, known in Italian as filetti di trota con pesto di olive e capperi – make it tonight!
Lake fish, like trout, naturally features strongly in the cuisine around the lakes. It was once a staple but overfishing was such that, for a time, other sources of fresh fish needed to be sought. Luckily, repopulation schemes have met with considerable success and you can once again buy fresh fish around the Italian lakes…
Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
Ingredients:
• a large bunch of fresh parsley
• 120g green olives, stones removed
• 1 tbsp capers in vinegar
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra for frying)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 fillets of trout, perch or other freshwater fish
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• a handful of rocket leaves, to serve
Instructions:
1 Wash the parsley and shake dry. Place the parsley on a chopping board along with the olives and capers and chop finely (or coarsely, if you want to go for a more rustic look).
2 Put in a bowl and add the grated lemon zest and 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Season the mix with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well with a spoon. Set aside.
3 Wash the fish fillets in cold water and pat dry with kitchen roll.
4 Heat some more oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, dust the fillets lightly in flour and place skin side down in the frying pan.
5 Cook for about 4 minutes and turn; the skin should be crisp and golden. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and place on kitchen roll to drain.
6 Place two fillets on each serving plate and spoon over a few tsp of the pesto. Decorate with a few rocket leaves and serve immediately.
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