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MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

To prepare the mousse, add the smoked trout, lemon juice, salt, cayenne, cream cheese, and lemon thyme to a food processor and blend well, for at least 2 to 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whip the cream into soft peaks using either an electric mixer or a whisk, and fold into the mousse to lighten it. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the quick pickle, in a small bowl, mix all of its ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes.

Serve the mousse on crackers or toast. Or if you suddenly find yourself with extra time, you could make smoked-trout deviled eggs (hard-boil some eggs and mix the mousse with the cooked egg yolk). Garnish the mousse with a small amount of radish and cucumber quick pickle.

PAIRING: A French champagne, such as N.V. Laurent-Perrier, or a Chablis.

pan-fried trout with dilly beans

For the vegetables:

1 pound fingerling potatoes,

halved lengthwise

½ pound carrots, cut into

large dice (about 1 cup)

1½ teaspoons extra-virgin

olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground

pepper

5 sprigs fresh lemon thyme

(optional)

For the trout:

2 (1-pound) whole rainbow

trout, filleted44

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons high-heat

vegetable oil

¼ cup dry white vermouth

For the coriander-lemon butter sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon whole coriander

seeds, freshly ground in a

spice grinder

For serving:

Dilly Beans (recipe follows)

I’m not sure what it is about trout, but it just loves potatoes and lemon and butter more passionately than other fish. The nuttiness of trout and butter left to bubble and brown in a cast-iron pan is just goodness writ large. If you are the plan-ahead sort, the dilly beans can be made up to a week ahead and the vegetables can be roasted the day before and just reheated. Then all you have to do the day of is spend ten minutes pan-frying the trout and making a simple sauce. The dilly beans offer a perfect piquancy to cut the richness of the sauce.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

To prepare the vegetables, place the potatoes and carrots on an oiled sheet pan. Toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on the pan, placing the potatoes cut side down. Tuck the lemon thyme sprigs in and around the vegetables. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered, for 35 minutes, or until the vegetables are caramelized and tender. Discard the thyme sprigs. Keep the vegetables warm.

To prepare the trout, season the trout fillets generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add half of the butter and vegetable oil, and cook 2 fillets, skin side up, for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil while you cook the other 2 fillets, using the remaining butter and oil. Transfer the fillets to the platter, turn off the heat, wait 1 minute for the pan to cool, and then add the vermouth, stirring to loosen any bits clinging to the pan. Then make the butter sauce in the same pan.

To prepare the sauce, add all of its ingredients to the pan and swirl them around just until you can smell the coriander, about 30 seconds. Pour over the trout fillets and serve with the roasted vegetables and Dilly Beans.

PAIRING: A sauvignon blanc, such as Matanzas Creek 2008, Sonoma County, California, or a Chablis.

DILLY BEANS

½ pound green beans, trimmed

1 bay leaf

1 cup white vinegar or apple

cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon whole coriander

seeds

½ teaspoon whole black

peppercorns

SERVES 4

Place the green beans in a shallow heatproof container.

In a medium saucepan, combine the bay leaf, vinegar, water, sugar, salt, coriander seeds, and peppercorns, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the green beans, making