Restaurateur Chef Megan Kee: A Homegrown Success Story
Delaware native Megan Kee helps make Rehoboth a hub for dining.
When La Fable first came to be, there were a few iconic French dishes that we knew had to be on the menu year-round. Much of Fable stays consistent and the available on our menu day after day. The interesting thing about French bistro foods is that they are often quite homey, comforting, and for me, reminiscent of my American Southern influenced meals of my childhood. Trout Amandine is one of those classic French dishes that pulls on my heartstrings. As a child, some of my fondest memories were spent at our lake house in the Poconos. On misty and clouded days, my cousins and I would pack up our bait and tackle and test our fish fortunes at the water’s edge for dinner, competing for the day’s biggest catch. Our catches were never hugely spectacular, but our nanny, Ruby, always cooked them in a way to be so. Rainbow trout was often what we would catch and with Ruby hailing from the south, she was a master at frying them up both beautifully and masterfully with nothing more than a scorching hot cast iron pan, loads of butter, a little lemon, salt and pepper and her “fish flip”. Looking back to those simpler days is what most inspires my menus and dining experiences. I hope that for this holiday season, Fable’s French variation of “Ruby’s Rainbow Trout” will evoke your childhood memories, too.
This recipe is a generous recipe for 2. It may be divided in half for dinner for one or to be shared for a light dinner for two. If being shared in half quantity, do not divide the haricot vert recipe by two as you will want the same amount of green beans per person.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 2 Serving(s)
For Fish
- 2 10-ounce skin-on rainbow trout fillets, clearcut
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or any high smoke point oil - we prefer peanut oil for its clean, yet round flavor profile)
- 4 tablespoons high fat butter (European style, 83% or higher), plus more if needed, cubed. The butter cubes make it quicker to melt which is needed for such a quick frying dish.
- Juice of ½ lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
- ¼ to ½ cup crushed fried and salted Marcona almonds (we always use Marcona almonds, never the classic slivered. you may substitute, but trust us, the crushed Marconas step this dish up ten notches)
For Green Beans
- 20-30 French-trimmed haricot verts (green beans), par boiled
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of butter
- lemon to taste
Preparation
The trick to a great Trout Amandine is keeping the fish filet whole in the pan. Feel free to split in two down the middle until you have mastered the “flip”. Mastering the fish flip is similar to learning how to flip pancakes. A poorly flipped pancake still tastes great, but a properly flipped giant pancake somehow just tastes better.
First step- take your par cooked haricot verts and sauté with butter in a pan until just cooked. Season with salt and lemon. Set aside and keep warm. These will be bed for your trout.
Pat the fish fillets dry. Season each side with salt and pepper.
Heat a large sauté pan, using a nonstick pan or cast iron, over medium heat until hot. Add the peanut oil, then melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. It is important to brown the butter without burning. If the butter starts to brown too quickly, remove the pan from the burner and wait a few seconds before adding the fish. (If it burns, which happens to the best of us, no fret- dump it out, wipe out the pan, and start over.)
Gently place one of the whole fillets in the pan skin side up. Cook without touching for 3 to 4 minutes. Using a fish spatula (best tool for mastering the fish flip), gently lift and peek at your fillet to check for color. When it is golden brown, tilt the pan toward you so your butter oil pulls towards you and flip the fillets in the opposite direction away from you, so you don’t splash your butter oil in your direction. Gently and with the assist of your fish spatula, fish flip your fillet and cook until the skin is crispy golden brown with spots that are a little darker for an additional 2 or 3 minutes.
Divide the cooked haricot verts, putting half on one plate and keeping the other half warm for your second fish fillet when cooked. Gently slide the cooked fish onto your bed of green beans, crispy skin side up. Set aside or in the oven to keep warm while finishing preparations and if you are cooking a second fish.
Add the rest of the butter to the same fish pan. Using a whisk, scrape the crusted bits of fish off of the bottom of the pan while the butter is browning, this will keep them from burning and add another layer of flavor to your sauce. When the butter is lightly browned, add the lemon juice, parsley, and the almonds, to taste, and stir to combine. If your almonds aren’t salted, this is where you should add an additional 1/8 teaspoon of salt.
Pour your butter almond sauce over your skin side up trout and all around your plate not to miss the edges of your green beans. Garnish with parsley and enjoy.
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