Skip to content

Trucha a la manteca

Trout with brown butter

Trucha a la manteca: Bariloche pan-fried lake trout with brown butter, lemon and toasted almonds

Restaurants on the shores of Nahuel Huapi, in Bariloche and Villa La Angostura, put rainbow trout from the cold Andean lakes on almost every menu, and this butter version is the one locals order most. Fillets are fried with crisp skin, then drenched in butter browned with flaked almonds and sharpened with lemon. Serve with boiled new potatoes and a green salad. Any trout or char works. People commonly start the fish in butter, which burns before the skin crisps; fry it in a film of oil and make the brown butter after. Chef's tip: dry the skin really well and dust it with rice flour; it gives a thin, glassy crust without any gluten.
Total time
25 min
Difficulty
easy
Serves
4
One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves4

Shop this recipe on Amazon

Fresh ingredients (3)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/6 done
  1. Step 1: Pat 4 trout fillets very dry, season both sides with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp white pepper, then dust the skin side lightly with 3 tbsp rice flour, tapping off the excess.

  2. Step 2: Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over a medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the fillets in skin side down and press gently for 10 seconds so they don't curl.

    1 min
  3. Step 3: Fry without moving until the skin is crisp and golden and the flesh has turned opaque two-thirds of the way up.

    4 min
  4. Step 4: Turn and cook the flesh side until the fish is opaque throughout and flakes when pressed with a fork. Move to warm plates, skin side up.

    2 min
  5. Step 5: Wipe out the pan, set it over a medium heat and add 2 ½ oz butter. When it foams, add 1 ⅜ oz flaked almonds and swirl until the butter smells nutty and turns hazelnut brown and the almonds are golden.

    3 min
  6. Step 6: Off the heat, add 1 lemon juice (it will spit) and 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, swirl, and spoon the sauce straight over the trout. Serve at once.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
390 kcal
Protein
34 g
Carbs
6 g
Fat
25 g
Fibre
1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does trucha a la manteca take?
About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?
Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of butter?
The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
What can I use instead of lemon?
Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Sign in to rate and review this recipe.

Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter

Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew

In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta

Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.

30 minGreekFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 1 views