Pan-Fried Trout with Lemon and Caper Sauce

                    You can cook most types of fish this way. Vary the sauce by adding diced tomato or roasted bell pepper, pitted black olives, or different fresh herbs such as dill, chervil, or basil.

Makes 4 servings

• 2 large or 3 small lemons
• 125 gr unsalted butter, divided
• 2 (½-inch-thick) sliced fresh brioche or white bread, crusts trimmed and discarded, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 8 trout fillets
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• All-purpose flour for dusting
• 60 ml olive oil
• 30 ml minced shallots
• 30 ml rinsed and drained capers
• 12 caper berries, drained and cut lengthwise in halves, or 30 ml more rinsed and drained capers
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 60 ml minced flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
2. To prepare the lemons, using a sharp paring knife, cut off just enough of each end of a lemon to reveal the fruit inside. Stand a lemon on one cut end and cut downward to remove the peel and pith. Holding the peeled lemon over a bowl to catch the juices, cut carefully between the membrane and pulp of each segment, freeing the segment and letting it drop into the bowl. Squeeze any remaining juice from the pulp left clinging to the membranes and discard the membranes and peel. Cut the lemon segments into ¼ to ½-inch pieces, discard the seeds, and return the segments to the bowl.
3. Strain off the lemon juice and measure out 125 ml of segments.
4. To make the croutons, melt half of the butter in a small saucepan over low heat ; toss the bread cubes with the butter and spread them on a small baking sheet.
5. Put them in the preheated oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes ; transfer to a bowl and set aside.
6. Season the trout fillets with salt and white pepper to taste and lightly dust them with flour.
7. Over high heat, heat a sauté pan large enough to hold all the fillets without crowding (or cook the fillets in batches, using half the olive oil for each batch).
8. Add the olive oil ; when the oil is hot, add the trout fillets boned side down and sauté until their undersides are golden brown, about 3 minutes ; with a metal spatula, carefully turn the fillets over and cook until their other sides are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
9. Carefully transfer 2 fillets to each of four heated serving plates ; scatter the croutons over and around the fillets.
10. Add the remaining butter to the pan, when it has melted add the shallots ; sauté over high heat until the butter turns golden brown.
11. Add the lemon juice and stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits ; add the lemon pieces, capers, caper berries, lemon zest and parsley, and heat through, about 1 minute more.
12. Spoon this sauce over and around the trout fillets and serve.

BON APPÉTIT