Skinning and boning a fish is maybe for some people too nasty or just simply too much work to do for just one meal, but the finished dish of tender fillets will make up for the time you have to spend in the kitchen. This dish is mostly for people that love to eat fish or don’t mind it. A person who doesn’t eat fish will have to look for some other dish to cook. It can be served with various sauces and side dishes; the most famous sauces for this recipe include the dill sauce described in this recipe.

This delicious Czech recipe comes from the area of the Giant Mountains (Krkonose in Czech) where the Hradec Kralove and Liberec Regions meet. For more information about those regions, click here and here.

Ingredients

Trout
2 trout fillets (1/2 lb each), can be substituted with salmon fillets
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup diced vegetables mix (combine cooked onions, celery root, carrots, parsley root)
2/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp Czech Wild Spices Mix (see more info below)
salt to taste

Dill sauce
4 Tbs mayonnaise
4 Tbs sour cream
salt to taste
powdered sugar
1/2 bunch dill (about 1 cup, minced)

Instructions

To prepare this meal, you will have to start with the trout. What you want to do is gut the fish so that there are no guts and then wash it well in water so that it will be clean and there will be no blood left. Then you will have to remove the skin and bones from the fish so that you do not need to worry about eating any bones when the meal is ready. The next step you will have to do, is to cut the root vegetables and put them in a saucepan, into which you will pour the white wine. Then pour in water, add salt, and add Czech Wild Spice Mix. You will cook it only briefly. After that, add the prepared trout fillets, which you will slowly cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Potatoes are the best side dish for this meal, and can be cooked any number of ways. One way is by boiling. First, wash and put the potatoes in a pot. Then fill the pot with water and let it boil. The expected cooking time of the potatoes is approximately 10 minutes, but it is better to check this by sticking a knife into the boiling potatoes – if they are soft, then they are ready.

Put the cooked fillets on a plate with vegetables and potatoes with parsley and the cold sauce that we prepare from mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, a small amount of sugar, and finely sliced fresh dill. After that, the meal is ready to be served.

Please note:
Czech Wild Spice Mix (Divoke Koreni) is traditionally used in the Czech Republic when preparing meals mostly from boar, deer, or rabbit meat, though it can also be used in some recipes that use domesticated animals as well. This flavor array is noted for bringing out the feral essence present in these dishes.

You can’t buy Czech Wild Spice Mix in the United States, so here is a guide to help you prepare your own. If you’re grinding these yourself, blend bay leaves, peppercorn, and allspice together in equal proportions. You can also add in a touch of thyme, juniper berries, and mustard seed for a bit of zest if you’d like. Make sure that all of the ingredients are dry before you mix them. Crush these ingredients into an electric coffee grinder until they turn into powder.

You can also purchase pre-ground versions of these spices and then mix them yourself, if you’re looking to save time.