Tout the Trout with Peanut Pasta

Editor's note: This week's article is a sneak peek into Noel Tyl's forthcoming cookbook, The Sophisticated Gourmet (publication date March 2004.) Whether it's the Greatest Baked Potato in the World, Filet Mignon for an Etruscan Queen, or "Eat-Your-Heart-Out, Belgium" Chocolate Sauce, Tyl's recipes for two or more are easy, fast, and thrifty.

You're not going to believe how simple and freshly delectable this dish is. You make it in ten easy minutes and remember it for several days. No trout swims away from this pasta--come on, I assure you.

Ingredients (for two)
1-2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tbsp. Reduced calorie chunky peanut butter
3 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Lemon to squeeze
2 Trout halves, filleted (easily available frozen; best buy in your market.) Note: one side of each half will have skin on it; don’t worry, it’s delectable.
3 or 4 tbsp. (Italian seasoned) bread crumbs
4 oz. Angel hair pasta
2 Portions of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation time: About 10-12 minutes, start to finish.

1. Put your water for the pasta in your pasta pot, cover, and set it on LOW (getting a head-start on the last-minute cooking of the pasta).
2. Into a nifty little bowl, put 1 tbs of the oil and the peanut butter; fork blend to smooth. Put aside.
3. Into your skillet, put the remaining 2 tbs oil and the chopped garlic; heat at medium/medium-high (about 1 1/2 minutes, just until the garlic starts to turn slightly amber).
4. Bread the trout halves--no eggs, no water; just dredge the fish in the breadcrumbs until the fish is coated (skin side as well).
5. Now, your skillet is surely very hot; the garlic is turning color a bit; add the trout halves, skin side up. Set your timer for three minutes--turn the water for the pasta up to high.
6. After three minutes, using a spatula and guiding fork or spoon, turn the Trout halves over carefully and reset your timer for a final three minutes.
7. Put the angel hair pasta into the boiling water and cook it for no more than 2 minutes; al dente; it will cook very quickly.
8. Everything is done at once. Off with the fish; spatula the halves one to each plate, skin side down, and then squeeze the one-half lemon over each half evenly.
9. Quickly drain the pasta in a colander, return the pasta to the empty pot, and pour the peanut butter sauce over the pasta and fork mix gently.
10 Portion one-half the coated pasta onto each plate next to the crustyish golden-bronze trout halves, and then put the grated Parmesan on top of the pasta.

That’s all there is to it.

Serve a very cold Pinot Grigio wine if you wish and sing your nuttiest version of "O Sole Mio," to keep the trout in mainstream Italian swim.