Pan-fried trout with mushrooms and tarragon

(SERVES 2) Ingredients

● 2 British trout fillets

● Salt and pepper

● 150g chestnut mushrooms

● 150g oyster mushrooms

● 1 small onion

● 2 cloves of garlic

● Light olive oil – just a glug or two

● 80g butter

● ½ glass dry white wine

● A small sprig of parsley, chopped

● A few stems of tarragon, chopped

● 1 tablespoon creme fraiche

● Half a lemon

● The very best olive oil – just a dessertspoonful or so.

METHOD

1. Lightly season the trout fillets with salt and pepper and allow them to come to room temperature.

2. Quarter the chestnut mushrooms into pound coin-thick slices and tear your oyster mushrooms up a little. Finely dice the onion and chop the garlic.

3. Heat a well-trusted frying pan and add a little light olive oil. Gently place the trout fillets in the pan skin side down and cook over a moderate heat until the skin is golden and the fish is cooked about one-third of the way though – this will probably take around two minutes.

4. Remove the trout from the pan and set it aside on a warmed plate, skin side up. Once they have cooled a little you should be able to easily peel off the skin and discard it.

5. Put half the butter in the pan along with the diced onion and garlic and fry these for a minute or two until the onion softens a little. Add all the mushrooms and cook over a high heat for a minute or two, then add the wine and cook down a little. Reduce the heat and pop a lid on the pan – allow the mushrooms to cook for another five minutes on very low.

6. Season everything and add the rest of the butter to the mushroom pan, pop the trout fillets on top of the mushrooms. Replace the lid on the pan and cook for five more minutes on a very low heat.

7. Remove the lid from the pan, turn off the heat and lift the fish out from the mushrooms. Add most of the parsley and tarragon and all of the creme fraiche to the buttery braised mushrooms and spoon these over the fish fillets.

8. Squeeze over a little lemon and scatter a few more leaves of tarragon and parsley over the top – drizzle with very good olive oil and enjoy.