Easy Pan Fried Trout with Summer Vegetables

This is such an easy pan fried trout recipe and is wonderful on a summer night. It doesn’t take long to prepare but will appear like you spent a lot of time on it. When I have friends over for dinner on a busy weeknight, I prepare this and usually get a lot of “ooh’s” because it’s so colorful and fresh-looking. This is one of my go-to dishes when I want to make something special but don’t have a lot of time.Use two skillets to cook this quickly, or cook it in two batches, keeping the first batch in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 8-ounce fresh whole brook or rainbow trout, cleaned and boned with heads and tails intact
12 fresh basil leaves plus 6 thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, divided
12 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced, divided
5 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped, divided
2 medium zucchinis, trimmed and chopped, divided
1 cup frozen petite yellow corn kernels, divided

Rinse and thoroughly dry the trout inside and out with paper towels. Fill each trout cavity with 3 fresh basil leaves and 3 sprigs Italian parsley. Using kitchen twine, tie each trout cavity closed. Season each trout with salt and pepper.

Heat
2 tablespoons oil in 2 large skillets each over high heat until the oil
begins to shimmer. Add half the garlic to each skillet and cook,
stirring, for about 3 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oil and
discard.

Place 2 trout in each skillet and cook until brown and slightly crisp,
about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to low and add about
half the vegetables and half the thinly sliced basil leaves to each
skillet; simmer until the vegetables are cooked but still firm
and the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer
the cooked fish and vegetables to a platter and serve immediately.To watch me cook this dish, see this quick video from Good Bite