PANFRIED RAINBOW TROUT WITH BACON AND SAGE

By ALICJA

Ingredients

• 4 whole rainbow trout,cleaned,without heads,1/2-3/4 lb(250-375g)each
• 1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• sea salt
• hot paprica
• 4 large fresh sage sprigs,plus leaves from 4 sprigs
• 4 bacon pc.
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

Step 1

Rinse the trout inside and out under cold running water and pat dry inside and out with paper towels.In a large,shallow bowl or plate,combine the cornmeal with salt and hot paper to taste.Stir to blend.Salt the cavity of each trout and place a sage sprig inside.Dredge the trout in the cornmeal mixture to coat both sides evenly.
It a large cast-iron or other heavy frying pan over medium heat,cook the bacon until crisp.Using tongs,transfer to paper towels to drain.Add the olive oil to the fat in the pan and heat until the oil shimmers.Add the trout,just two at a time if needed to avoid crowding,and cook until lightly browned on the outside and opaque troughout,4-5 minutes on each side.Transfer the trout to a platter in a low(200 F)oven.
Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the fat in the pan and add the butter and sage leaves.Cook over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned and the sage leaves are crisp,about 2 minutes.Add the lemon juice and heat for about 30 seconds.Pour the mixture over the trout.Crumble the bacon strip and sprinkle one-fourh over each trout.serve immediately.