Panko Trout

Private chef Tracy “T.L.” Bayles used a lot of Panko bread crumbs when he cooked in restaurants, and now likes Panko so much that he seldom uses other bread crumbs.

This white wine-butter sauce is awesome. It is simply a beurre blanc with cilantro added. He suggested that cooks use their imagination to add ingredients such as ground cumin, chipotle or lime zest.

A couple of tips: Be sure the pan is hot (medium-high heat) before putting fish in the pan. The pan should be smoking but not burning. Also, shrimp may be added to the sauce to stretch or embellish the dish. Simply sauté the shrimp before adding them to the sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 trout fillets
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp. chopped shallots (not green onions)
• 6 tbsp. butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chardonnay wine
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/3 tsp. minced canned chipotle pepper
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil

PREPARATION:

Marinate the fillets in buttermilk for one hour. Sauté the cilantro and shallots in 1 tbsp. butter until tender. Add chardonnay and reduce until almost dry. Add cream and reduce until sauce is thickened. Stir in chipotle peppers. Mix well and remove from heat. Add 4 tbsp. butter and stir. In a separate bowl dredge marinated fillets in Panko bread crumbs to coat. Sprinkle with basil and parsley. Pour olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter into a large skillet. Add fish fillets and fry until brown. Turn the fillets and brown the other side. Spoon sauce around the fillets and serve. Serves 4.