The rich sauce here is inspired by the sherry-like Savignin from the Jura. It’s a while since we’ve been there so we had to settle for dry sherry which still made a delicious sauce. Green beans and some new potatoes are perfect on the side.
Wine Suggestion: We think this works with a mountain wine of some sort, where you get the bracing freshness of altitude but can also get depth and body to stand up to the flavoursome sauce. In the absence of a Savignin in the fridge we turned to a Côtes du Jura Chardonnay by Chevasu-Fassenet. Rich, creamy, with hints of oak and a layer of oxidative flor mingled in with the fruit giving this a grip and extra zip.
Sautéed sea trout with sherry sauce – serves 2
- 50g butter
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 60ml dry sherry
- 300ml chicken stock
- 100g full-fat crème fraîche
- ½ tsp dry sherry
- 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
- a pinch of sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- sea trout fillets, enough for 2
Heat 30g of the butter in a pan and gently cook the shallot until softened. Add the sherry and chicken stock, then reduced by three-quarters. Whisk in the crème fraîche and reduced for a couple of minutes, then whisk in the rest of the butter.
Reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon, then take off the heat and add the extra ½ tsp of sherry and parsley. Season with a pinch of salt and sugar and keep warm.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the trout, skin-side down, for about 4 minutes. Turn when the skin is crispy and finish cooking briefly on the other side.
Serve with the sauce, some green beans and new potaotes.
(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Secret France, BBC Books, 2019.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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