Baked Whole Trout
Slovenian lakes and rivers, a part of the Adriatic and Danube watersheds, are teeming with life. They are home to river trout, grayling, Danube salmon, pike, and to the indigenous marble trout, the only indigenous species of trout in the Adriatic part of the river system in Slovenia.
In most Slovenian restaurants and households, fish is baked and served whole as cooking fish on the bone yields more flavorful and juicy meat. The seasoning is simple: some herbs, salt, and pepper. In my family fish is often served with buttered potatoes and Triestine sauce (Tržaška omaka). Below is my dad's recipe for preparing baked trout. We prepare sea bass in the same way as well.
Recipe
Ingredients:
For the Fish:
4 trout
a few sprigs of rosemary
olive oil
mediterranean spice mix (optional)
salt, pepper to taste
lemon wedges
Triestine Sauce:
10g parsley
4 cloves of garlic
40 ml olive oil
Instructions:
The first step is buying fish. In a way, it is much easier to guarantee freshness with whole fish than with fish filets. The first thing you should do is look at the eyes: they should be clear (not cloudy) and plump. Avoid fish that has browned around the edges. Finally, smell the fish: it should still smell a bit like water and not be stinky. The fish is usually sold gutted, but it is better to check before buying. At most places they will prepare the fish for baking if you ask for it. Trout does not need to have scales removed before baking.
Rinse the fish and pat it dry. Season it with salt, pepper, Mediterranean spices, and rub it generously with olive oil (including the cavity). Place chopped rosemary into the cavity. If you want to prepare fish the day you buy it, season it as early as you can before baking. Otherwise, season it the night before baking so that it has enough time to marinate.
Turn on the oven to 200C (390 Fahrenheit). Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and drizzle it with olive oil. Put fish in the pan and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Change the setting to grill and bake for an additional 5 minutes. The fish is done when you can easily remove the fin from the body of the fish.
To prepare the Triestine sauce, finely chop the parsley, mince the garlic, and mix them with olive oil. Leave to stand for about 30 minutes. The taste of the garlic in the sauce is strong, so the sauce is best served in a small bowl separate from the fish so that each person can take as much as they wish.
Serve the fish with Triestine sauce, lemon wedges, and buttered potatoes.