Name: Trout Choucroute
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 1/4 hr
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 bacon slices; 1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 pound sauerkraut, drained, rinsed, and squeezed dry; 2 juniper berries, slightly crushed; 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf; 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 2/3 cup dry white wine (preferably Alsatian Riesling); 3/4 cup water; 4 (4- to 5-ounce) trout fillets with skin, pin bones removed

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Trout Choucroute

This dish takes the best of traditional choucroute garni—smoked pork married to sauerkraut that's had its bite removed by being simmered in wine with bay and juniper—and lightens it up, pairing it with another Alsatian favorite, trout, and transforming a stick-to-the-ribs dish into something fit for a first course. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how the slight acidity of the kraut and the smokiness of the bacon play up, rather than dominate, the fish's clean flavor.

Recipe notes

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