Shrimp-Stuffed Rainbow Trout (and a note on eyeballs)

I've been trying to make fish at least once a week. So today, when Lane and I met for coffee and he was wondering what to make for dinner, I thought, Oh, I have some salmon in the freezer. But he needed to stop at the Fresh Fields (OK, the Whole Foods) anyway, so I said let me get something fresh.

He encouraged me to get this flounder that looked like it could feed an army. No, it's really a two-person fish, he said. But that was more fish than I could handle without some advance prep. So I got two whole rainbow fish instead. And I was glad.


Recipe:
Serves 2 (can be scaled)

Fish:
2 rainbow trout, boned
flour (I used millet flour)
1 egg, lightly beaten
pecan meal
1/4 c butter
juice and zest of 1 lemon, or equivalent lemon juice plus a dash of lemon oil
salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any)
bamboo or wood skewers to secure the fish
Stuffing:
1/2 onion
2 oz mushrooms
3 dried tomatoes*
2 oz frozen spinach (fine to use fresh, just wash it first)
4 oz shrimp
2 T ghee or butter
1 T white pepper (ground)
1 c dry sherry
*I accidentally bought some dried tomatoes that were salted, and I used them in this recipe since I knew they would be cooked as they rehydrated. If you are using unsalted dried tomatoes you may want to add some salt to the recipe)

Make the stuffing:
Chop the onion and slice the mushrooms and the dried tomatoes Mis en place picture shows approximate dicing and thickness and includes everything but the spinach. You can use shrimp of any size, just be sure not to overcook it.

Melt the ghee or butter in a skillet. Saute the shrimp until very barely done (they will cook more when you stuff the fish) and remove. If the shrimp have shells or tails, remove them to use for something else.

Add the mushrooms, onions, dried tomatoes and spinach and saute until cooked. Add the sherry and white pepper and cook until it is reduced to a glaze. Remove from the heat and stir in the shrimp just to coat. Let cool.

Make the Fish:
Dredge the outside of the fish in whatever flour you are using. Coat with the egg mixture and then generously with the pecan meal.

Open the fish. Add enough stuffing so that the fish are full, but can be closed when folded back over. If using larger shrimp, split the shrimp between the two fish and then add some of the rest of the stuffing. Close using the skewers. Picture shows them ready to go into the pan. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the trout. My skillet comfortably held 2 trout. If you are doing more than that, do them in batches and remove the cooked ones and keep them warm.

Cook the trout until the crust is golden, turning once. Mine took about 3 minutes on each side.

Remove and plate the the trout. To the cooking pan, add the lemon juice and zest/oil and any remaining stuffing. Deglaze and pour over and around the trout. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Serve right away.

Eating Notes:
We haven't had whole rainbow trout in who knows how long, and it brought back a lot of memories. The fish was not overcooked (I saw a lot of recipes asking you to bake the shrimp at 350-375F for 30 minutes!) andthe shrimp stuffing added just enough of a saltwater seafood note to remind us that the trout itself most definitely was a freshwater fish. If doing it again, I might cut back a bit on the lemon juice, but I would not ramp any of the spices up - it was best as a subtle dish so you could taste the fish and not the cook.

Finally, a note on eyeballs. We saved the heads to feed to our aquarium fish, but I decided I should be brave and at least try the eyeballs. The squeamish factor was primary, especially with eyeball one - "you are eating eyeball!" my cerebrum screamed. "Be quiet and let me taste it" said the cerebellum. By eyeball 2 the cerebellum was marginally winning - with a small fish. The taste itself was almost like marrow - sort of creamy and rich and good. But I was still thinking "eyeballeyeballeyeball." I am going to keep at it because it really is good. But if I were presented with something bigger - a lamb eyeball, say - I don't know that I'm up to it yet.