Lemon-herb parchment-baked speckled trout

Name: Lemon-herb parchment-baked speckled trout
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 skinless speckled trout fillets (4 to 6 oz each); 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced into half-moons; 1 small shallot, thinly sliced; 1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp dry white wine or vegetable broth; 4 sprigs fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley; 1 tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper; 4 sheets parchment paper, about 12 by 15 inches

Cooking in parchment is gentle: the packet traps steam, which keeps a delicate fillet from drying out. Each packet holds its own fillet on a bed of squash and shallot, with lemon and dill on top.

Cut them open at the table so everyone gets the first rush of steam.

About 25 min. Serves 4.

Ingredients

4 skinless speckled trout fillets (4 to 6 oz each)
1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp dry white wine or vegetable broth
4 sprigs fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 sheets parchment paper, about 12 by 15 inches

Method

Heat the oven to 400°F. Fold each sheet of parchment in half, then open it flat.
Divide the squash and shallot between the sheets, on one side of the crease, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Lay a fillet over each bed. Season with the rest of the salt and pepper, drizzle with the oil and wine and top each with two lemon slices and dill.
Fold the other half of the parchment over the fish and crimp the edges in small, overlapping folds all the way around the curve to seal each packet into a half-moon.
Set the packets on a baking sheet and bake 11 to 13 minutes, until puffed and fragrant. Cut them open at the table.

Notes

Cook fish to 145°F in the thickest part, which is the FDA’s temperature for fish. Check with a thermometer.
Check one packet by opening it carefully away from your face. The steam is hot.
Speckled trout fillets are soft. Keep them cold from the water to the pan and handle them gently.
Speckled trout have size and bag limits. Check TPWD’s current rules before you keep fish.
TPWD lists consumption advisories for some Texas waters. If you caught the fish, check the advisories for that water before you cook it.

Sources: FDA: Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely (content current as of Mar. 5, 2024), TPWD: Fish Consumption Bans and Advisories.

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