Potato-Crusted

Trout Schnitzel

with Caper Mayo

TOTAL TIME

30 MIN

Serves 4

Instant mashed potatoes are one of my niftiest cooking hacks. Every now and then I’ll catch Jason whisking some in butter and hot milk to make a secret snack. But my MO is to use the flakes as a gluten-free substitute for bread crumbs or flour, whether for thickening soups or coating chicken, fish, or pork to make schnitzel. Try it with the trout here and you’ll be proudly stocking up on instant mashed potatoes, too.

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• 1½ tablespoons drained capers, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups dried potato flakes (aka instant mashed potatoes)
• 4 (6-ounce) skin-on trout fillets, pin bones removed (see Tip)
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Mixed greens salad, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, chives, capers, and lemon juice. Season the caper mayo with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, beat the eggs with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Spread the potato flakes in another shallow bowl. Using a paring knife, make four or five very shallow slits in the skin of the trout (this will help prevent it from curling in the pan). Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Dip the fillets in the egg, letting the excess drip back in the bowl. Dredge them in the potato flakes, pressing lightly to help the flakes adhere, and transfer to a plate.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the trout fillets skin-side down and cook until browned and crisp on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a thin spatula, carefully flip the fillets and cook until the other side is browned and the fish is cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the fish to paper towels to drain, then transfer to plates and serve with the caper mayo and a mixed greens salad.

TIP Your first step to ensuring your fillets do not have pin bones is to ask your fishmonger to remove them. If you happen to get the fillets home only to find some pin bones remaining, I’ve got a brilliant trick for removing them. You need two tools: a medium bowl and needle-nose pliers (the ones you keep devoted to food!). Invert the bowl on a work surface. Lay the fish skin-side down over the inverted bowl. The edges of the bowl will pull the fillet taut while also pushing out the pin bones just enough that you can snag them easily with the pliers.