Baked trout with potatoes, garlic and thyme

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Partially bake the potatoes

   Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices about 5 mm thick. In a roasting pan, toss them with 2 tbsp olive oil, the salt and 2 sliced garlic cloves. Spread in an even layer and bake for 20 minutes.

2. Prepare the trout

   Rinse the trout inside and out with cold water and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal slashes on each side, cutting down to the bone. Season the fish with salt and pepper, both outside and inside the cavities.

3. Stuff the trout

   Thinly slice the lemon. Place 1–2 lemon slices, 2 thyme sprigs, some of the remaining garlic, sliced, and a piece of butter inside each trout.

4. Bake

   Place the trout on the partially baked potatoes, brush with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and bake for 20–25 minutes. The fish is done when the skin is golden and the flesh near the backbone is white and separates easily from the bone.

5. Serve

   Serve the trout with the potatoes from the roasting pan. On each plate, cut the fish along the back and lift off the flesh from the top side. Then grasp the backbone near the head and lift out the skeleton in one piece.

Tip: Fresh trout have clear, rounded eyes and red gills. If all four fish will not fit side by side in the roasting pan, alternate their direction so the heads sit next to the tails.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Pečený pstruh so zemiakmi, cesnakom a tymiánom