Trout fillets Riviera style

In the following recipe trout fillets are simply cooked in the oven and served with panisses, fried courgette (squash) flowers and oven-roasted tomatoes.

Panisses, chickpea flour “fries” are strongly associated with the traditional cuisine in Nice. Chickpea flour is of course the essential ingredient of the famous socca. Chickpea flour, farine de pois chiches, is easy to find in our supermarket in Nice, but for convenience I prefer to buy Chez Bernard panisses. I just roast them in the oven with hazelnut powder and olive oil. If you can’t buy panisses you can of course replace them with new potatoes in this recipe.

Fried courgette flowers, fleurs de courgettes, are a Niçois staple and you will often find them on menus in small restaurants of the Vieux Nice.

The tomato halves are simply sprinkled with a little minced garlic and black pepper, covered with dry breadcrumbs and some olive oil and roasted in the oven together with the trout fillets and panisses.

2 servings

2 trout fillets with skin, about 150 g each
4 courgette flowers with small courgettes still attached to them
1 small shallot
1 tbsp. rapeseed oil
150 ml light chicken stock
8 black olives, pitted and halved
1 tomato, halved
½ clove garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. dry breadcrumbs
2 tsp. olive oil
3 panisses from Chez Bernard
6 tsp. hazelnut powder, noisettes en poudre
3 tsp. olive oil
Basil leaves to decorate
½ lemon in wedges

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Wash the courgette flowers and place them on kitchen paper to dry. Peel and mince the shallot. Warm 1 tbsp. rapeseed oil in a frying pan over low heat and start gently sautéing the shallot. Make 150 ml light chicken stock.

Line a large roasting tray with baking paper. Place the panisses on the tray and sprinkle each first with 2 tsp. hazelnut powder and then with 1 tsp. olive oil. Place the tomato halves on the tray and sprinkle first with some minced garlic and black pepper, then with dry breadcrumbs and olive oil. Place the trout fillets on the tray skin side down. Roast the tray in 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile place the courgette flowers in the frying pan and increase the heat to medium- high. Fry the courgettes and flowers for a few minutes turning a few times, then add the chicken stock. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Small young courgettes can remain al dente.

Divide the trout, panisses, courgette flowers and tomatoes on the plates. Pour the cooking juices from the frying pan on the trout and courgette flowers. Decorate with basil leaves and olive halves and serve with a lemon wedge.