Lemon Garlic Rainbow Trout

We love eating fish in our house. And by 'we' I mean Brad and I because two of our kids won't eat it and the other kid enjoys it if it's battered, deep-fried and comes with a gallon of tartar sauce. I love fish and chips but fresh, oven-baked fish with garlic and lemon?! Now that is ahmazing!

Recently, we bought fish from Spring Hills Trout Farm in Hanover, Ontario. We had a case (1/2 rainbow trout, 1/2 pickerel) delivered to our door in individually vacuumed-sealed packages which were frozen at their peak freshness. And boy, can you taste it. Rainbow trout has a nice pinkish colour (it looks like a lighter salmon) and isn't fishy tasting at all. I've made this recipe twice now and it turned out wonderful both times. 

This recipe is so simple that it doesn't even feel like a 'real' recipe. With some fresh lemon, salt and pepper and garlic, you're keeping the seasonings simple so the flavour of the fish can shine through. Fine tune it to your personal tastes and add some herbs if you have a hankering for them and serve it with your favourite sides - like the roasted potatoes included in this recipe.  

Note: I have not been asked by Spring Hills Trout Farm to endorse their product. I purchased this product for my family and my comments are strictly my own feelings about their products from personal use.

Lemon Garlic Rainbow Trout

Servings: 2

2 large Russet potatoes, skins on, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp. oil

to taste - salt and pepper

1 large (or 2 small) rainbow trout fillets, skin on

1 tbsp. grapeseed oil (or your oil of choice)

2 tsp (or to taste) minced garlic

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

4 lemon slices, thinly sliced (seeds removed)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with foil (or parchment paper), lightly grease and set aside.

Prep Potatoes:

In a large bowl, toss bite-sized potatoes with 2 tbsp. of oil and the salt and pepper (I like to be generous with the S&P). Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, keeping the spuds to one side and in a single layer.

Bake potatoes for 25 minutes, turning once or twice to brown all the sides.

Once the potatoes have had their turn in the oven, prep the fish. If necessary, remove any pin bones from the fillets (Spring Hills now removes these pesky bones for you). Google 'how to remove pin bones' if you need some help.

Rainbow trout are aptly named
with their gorgeous scales

Remove baking sheet from oven and place fillets, skin-side down beside the potatoes. Brush fillets with oil, add fresh sea salt and black pepper and top with minced garlic (I LOVE garlic so I used more). Top with two (or more) lemon slices for each fillet.

1 large fillet with loads of lemon

Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Potatoes should be done by now too. Remove from oven and, if desired, remove fish from skin using a spatula (or serve fish with skin still on). Serve immediately with your oven roasted potatoes and a side of steamed broccoli or a fresh green salad.