Mountain Trout Stuffed with Lemon-Butter Mushrooms

What a long, strange week-plus it's been since I last blogged! I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that nothing went as planned with the house we thought we were buying, and with the job I thought I was starting last week. The good news is that we've found a new house we love and plan to make an offer on tomorrow, AND I'm now all set to start my new job tomorrow, so I think our temporary streak of mishaps and setbacks is coming to an end.

During this tumultuous time, Greg treated me to the following magnificent fish dinner: Fresh local mountain trout, butterflied and stuffed with butter, lemon and mushrooms, and delicately seasoned with tarragon, salt & pepper. I whipped up some sassy sauteed spinach to serve on the side, and that recipe will be posted here in the near future.

Back to the trout: There's no need to measure any ingredients for this recipe. Simply plan on one butterflied trout per person (they're not very large), then use your judgment and common sense when layering the ingredients and sprinkling with the seasonings. As with any fish recipe, it's imperative to use the freshest fish possible.

Ingredients
Butterflied trout
Thinly sliced lemon
Sliced mushrooms
Butter
Coarse salt & crushed pepper
Dried tarragon (or another herb such as dill, parsley or marjoram)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Open up each butterflied trout, skin side down, in the center of a square of foil that's large enough to wrap completely around the fish when it's stuffed and folded back together. Place a few lemon slices in a single layer on one half of the fish, then a few pats of butter, then the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and tarragon or other herb. Fold the other half of the trout back over the topped half to "close" the fish up, then wrap the whole fish with aluminum foil, crinkling the seams of the foil to seal.

Place the packets of fish on a baking sheet, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350°F until fish is fork-tender.  Remove from oven, carefully open each foil package and gently transfer each baked fish onto a plate. Enjoy!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  As much as it pains me to admit it, this fish requires no hot sauce. But if you must spice it up, keep it simple and select a milder, gentler, simpler hot sauce such as Cholula Green Pepper Sauce or Amazon Green Hot Sauce.