Steelhead Amandine

The Ingredients (for 6 to 8 servings):

• 700 g (or 2½ lb) of steelhead trout fillet
• 40 g (or 3 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
• 175 g (or ⅔ cup) of roasted almond butter
• salt
• black pepper
• cooking grade olive oil

The Method:

1. Wash the steelhead fillet and pat it dry with paper towels.
2. Generously salt and pepper the skin side of the fillet.
3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Place the steelhead skin-side down in the pan.
5. Sparingly salt and pepper the flesh side of the fillet.
6. Keep the heat on medium-high until the skin is dark and crispy, about 8 minutes.
7. When the skin is crisp but not burnt, turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pan.
8. Cook the fillet for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to low.
   
   
   
   
9. Immediately (for medium-rare), or when the steelhead is cooked to the desired degree, remove it to a serving platter.
10. Pour out of the pan most of the accumulated liquid, leaving about 45 ml (or 3 tablespoons).
11. Add the butter and stir until it has melted.
12. Add the almond butter and stir until it is incorporated into the pan juices.
    
13. Pour the almond butter sauce over the steelhead in the serving platter.
    

The Story:

When we lived in California we could get fresh rainbow trout every Tuesday and Friday from our local, excellent seafood shop, JP Seafood Co. I struggled to make truite amandine in the French manner until I lost patience with it, or with myself. That's when I thought of using almond butter instead. I would buy butterflied trout, pan-fry them until the skin on both sides browned and crisped, and then melt  and mix the butter and almond butter into the pan with the trout. Easy, and delicious.

Here,  on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, rainbow trout can only be fished from a stocked lake in the mountains during the summer—if you can get a license. Farmed steelhead fillets, though, are flown in by Costco. They are huge compared to the California trout, but the taste is similar, the skin crisps up just as nicely, and the almond sauce is just as yummy as before.