Bacon-Wrapped Trout with Tomato-Thyme Butter Sauce

Ingredients

Tomato-Thyme Butter Sauce:

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or lemon thyme
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 3/4 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 4 (10-ounce) whole trout, cleaned, leaving heads and tail intact
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Essence, recipe follows
• 8 thin slices fresh lemon
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 12 bacon slices

Directions

Combine the wine, lemon juice, and shallots in a medium saute pan and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced in volume by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and thyme and continue to cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time, adding each piece before the previous piece has been completely incorporated. Continue until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, removing the pan from the heat periodically to prevent the sauce from getting too hot and breaking. Remove from the heat and add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Keep warm while you prepare the fish.

Preheat the oven to broil.

Pat the trout dry inside and out with paper towels. Season cavity and outside of fish with salt, pepper, and Essence. Place 2 sprigs of thyme inside the cavity of each fish. Wrap each fish with 3 slices of bacon, securing with toothpicks. Place the prepared fish in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan and broil 5 to 7 inches from the heat until the skin and bacon are crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn fish carefully using a spatula and continue to cook until crisp on the second side and trout is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.

Serve fish immediately with the Tomato-Thyme Butter Sauce.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Published by William and Morrow, 1993.