Insightful Eats

Breeding Insight staff share some of their favorite ways to prepare and enjoy many of the

specialty plant and animal species we are honored to collaborate with through the USDA-ARS.

This recipe is shared by Dr. Josue Chinchilla-Vargas, BI’s Animal Breeding Coordinator and Project Manager working with the USDA-ARS trout program and features trout cooked “en papillote” or in parchment. This recipe comes from the BBC Good Food website: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/trout-en-papillote.

To learn more about the USDA trout breeding program, check out our newest feature: Success Stories: Breeder Chronicles where all things trout breeding are discussed.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Cook time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 large carrots cut into batons
  • 3 celery sticks cut into batons
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 6 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 4 – 175g trout fillets
  • basil leaves
  • juice of 1 lemon

Method

  • step 1

    Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the carrots and celery in a pan with the oil, sugar, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, tightly cover, then cook for 10 mins until the vegetables are tender. Cool.

  • step 2

    Cut four large sheets of baking parchment, about 35cm square. Divide the vegetables between them and top each with a trout fillet. Scatter a few basil leaves and a little lemon juice over each, then season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Fold the paper in half and double fold all round to seal in the fish, a bit like a pasty.

  • step 3

    Put the parcels on two baking sheets and bake for 15-20 mins (depending on the thickness of the fish). Serve in their paper with some steamed new potatoes.