Alright folks, so tonight I decided to tackle this trout side dish idea bouncing in my head. Had some beautiful pan-fried trout fillets planned, but man, what the heck goes well with it? Figured potatoes are always solid, right? Gotta be quick though, ain’t nobody got time for elaborate stuff after work.
First: Spud Hunt & Chop Chaos
Scoped out the spud situation in my kitchen. Found some little baby potatoes hiding at the back of the pantry. Perfect! Figured they’d cook faster. Washed ’em off – still some dirt clinging on, whatever. Diced those little guys up kinda rough. Uneven chunks? Hey, homemade charm. Threw them all in a bowl.
Drizzled a good glug of olive oil over the potato chunks – probably went a bit heavy, but who cares. Then came the seasoning scramble:
- Salt (lots, potatoes soak it up)
- Pepper (freshly ground, makes a diff)
- Paprika (for that smoky hint)
- Garlic powder? Yeah.
- Onion powder? Why not.
- Maybe some dried rosemary? Sure, crushed it in my fingers.
Tossed it all together like mad. Fingers worked best. Made sure every little spud piece got some greasy, herby goodness coating it.
Pan Fried Potato Madness
Heated up my big skillet, medium-high. Dumped the whole bowl of seasoned potatoes in. Heard that satisfying sizzle! Left them alone for a good few minutes – gotta get that golden crust. Stirred them around a bit, tried to flip the pieces. Some cooperated, some stuck. Didn’t panic.
Lowered the heat a touch. Covered the pan – hoping they’d steam through inside while the outsides crisped. Peeked after like 10 minutes? Poked a chunk with a fork. Almost tender! Took the lid off, cranked the heat up again to finish crisping the outsides. Kept stirring. Okay, maybe pushing some around with the spatula more than stirring. Saw some nice brown bits appearing. Smelled amazing!
Thought they were done, scooped one out, blew on it, popped it in my mouth. Hot! Burned the roof of my mouth a little. Worth it! Creamy inside, crisp outside. Salt level good! Piled them onto a plate.
The Trout Tango
Wiped the skillet out fast. Needed it for the star! Seasoned the trout fillets simple – salt, pepper, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice patted on. Heated a fresh slick of oil. Got it nice and hot again. Laid those fillets in skin-side down. Pressed ’em gently with the spatula to stop curling.
Left them alone! Watched the edges turn opaque. Flip time when skin looked crispy. Maybe… flipped one a smidge too early. Skin ripped a little. Dang it. Other one came out perfect. Cooked flesh-side for just a minute or two – trout cooks stupid fast.
The Final Feed
Plated it up. Crispy trout fillets on one side. Big pile of those rustic, crusty, herby baby potatoes on the other. Squeezed fresh lemon juice over the trout AND the potatoes. Sprinkled some chopped fresh parsley I had wilting in the fridge on top. Made it look fancy.
Served it. Took bites together – flaky trout, crunchy potatoes. Lemon tied them together. The potatoes? Seriously good. Fast? Definitely quicker than roasting whole potatoes. Next time might try tossing a sliced onion in with the potatoes when they start softening. Experiment! Bottom line: Trout and quick-fried potato chunks? Winner winner fish dinner. Should’ve used the thermometer for the trout though, overcooked one slightly. Oh well!
