Creamy pasta with trout and fennel
- Preparation 25 min
- Cooking 20 min
- Servings 6
- Freezing I do not suggest
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🐟 My love for creamy fish pasta
I’ve always loved pasta with a creamy touch and fish in it. It’s a combo I find absolutely amazing. The pasta getting coated, the sauce clinging, the fish flaking delicately with each bite. Most recipes like this use salmon, which is good, but I wanted to get off the beaten path. Rainbow trout is a local Quebec fish found in practically every grocery store chain, and it has a similar texture to salmon with a slightly more delicate taste. And then there’s fennel. This underused vegetable that deserves so much more recognition. Good fresh, good cooked, just aniseed enough. It’s the ingredient that transforms an ordinary pasta dish into a memorable pasta dish.
🍳 The two traps to avoid so you don’t ruin everything
The first time I made this recipe, I messed up two things at the same time: I overcooked my pasta AND I overcooked my trout. Result: mushy pasta and dry fish that crumbled into bits in the sauce. Not the result we’re aiming for. The lesson: watch these two cooking processes like a hawk. For the pasta, take it out of the water when it’s really al dente. It will continue cooking in the sauce. For the trout, 4 to 5 minutes in large chunks is enough, no more. The flesh should stay just cooked, almost pink in the center, so it remains juicy when you incorporate it at the end. The other detail: stir gently at the final step so you don’t crush the fish.
🏡 Versatile: entertaining, weeknight or impressive date night
This recipe is exactly the kind of versatile dish you want to have in your repertoire. You’re having friends over Saturday night with a bottle of well-chilled white wine? Pasta-fish-creamy-pecorino, nobody’s going to complain eating these beautiful ingredients. You have a date to impress without looking like you worked too hard? This entertaining recipe makes an impact without requiring you to play starred chef. Weeknight and you want something out of the ordinary without complications? Thirty minutes flat, ingredients that are easy to find, a result that tastes like heaven. It’s the embodiment of my impressive recipes without stress, the kind of dish you pull out repeatedly because it works every time.
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🐟 Local rainbow trout instead of salmon
Rainbow trout is a Quebec fish found in practically every grocery store chain. Its texture is reminiscent of salmon with a slightly more delicate taste. If you find steelhead at the fish market, it’s an excellent substitute. And if you really only have salmon on hand, that works too. But try the trout version at least once to taste the difference.
🌿 Choose a beautiful firm fennel bulb
At the market, take a firm bulb, not damaged, not too big, with its beautiful green stems still attached. Those green leaves on top are precious: I often use them as a final garnish to give a visual and flavorful freshness boost to the plate. If your fennel has lost its stems, it’s probably spent too much time on the shelf.
🧀 Pecorino romano instead of classic parmesan
Pecorino is made from sheep’s milk, which makes it saltier and more complex than parmesan. That’s what gives this sauce its distinctive signature. I like to change things up with pecorino from time to time. It transforms an ordinary creamy pasta dish into something out of the ordinary. Grate it yourself when cooking, never the pre-grated stuff in bags that contains cellulose.
🫒 Brined capers, finely chopped
I always take the small capers in brine, not the large ones in salt. Drain them well and chop them finely. That way they incorporate into the sauce and give a salty-tangy punch throughout instead of staying in big chunks that surprise you. It’s my Mediterranean twist that makes the difference from a bland fish pasta recipe.
🥛 15% country cream is more than enough
No need for 35%: 15% country cream has the same hold, coats just as well and is less heavy. The fat difference is felt on the plate but not in the final result. It’s the sweet spot between creamy and light for a dish you can eat without feeling weighed down.
🍷 White wine you’d actually drink
Classic rule: a white wine you’d want to drink in a glass. Not too sweet a wine. Ideally a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio with some minerality. Pour the ¼ cup into the pan, finish the rest of the bottle in your glass while the sauce simmers.
🌟 Optional twist: pastis to boost the fennel
Want to go further on the aniseed side of fennel? Add a small touch of pastis (Ricard or Pernod) at the same time as the white wine. It naturally amplifies the aniseed notes and gives additional Mediterranean depth. Test it once to see if you’re hooked.
✅ What to serve with my creamy pasta with trout and fennel?
This dish is almost complete on its own, but to make it a real impressive dinner, serve it with my Cheesy garlic bread to soak up the cream on the plate or my Fennel, oranges and black olives salad to double the aniseed side. For a more traditional Italian dinner, add my Classic Caesar salad that balances the richness of the sauce or my Green couscous salad with pecans, edamame and feta cheese for freshness.
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Ingredients
- 1 package of 454 g (1 lb) linguine
- Olive oil
- 450 g (1 lb) rainbow trout (or steelhead) fillets, skinless, cut into large cubes
- 1 fennel bulb, core removed, cut into quarters, then thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 French shallots, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (60 ml) white wine
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) capers, finely chopped
- A small handful of baby spinach, roughly chopped
- A small handful of fresh arugula
- 1 carton of 1 cup (237 ml) 15% country cream
- 1 cup (250 ml) grated pecorino romano cheese + a bit for serving
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
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Preparation
- In a large pot filled with salted boiling water, cook the pasta following package instructions. Reserve about 1 cup (250 ml) of cooking water. Drain well, drizzle with a thin stream of olive oil, mix and set aside.
- In a large non-stick pan heated over medium heat, pour a thin stream of olive oil and add the trout pieces. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring gently until the fish is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan heated over medium heat, pour a good stream of olive oil and add the fennel, garlic and shallots. Cook 5 minutes, stirring until the fennel is tender.
- Pour the white wine and mix. Cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add the lemon zest and juice, capers, spinach and arugula. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes to wilt the greens. Add the cream, pecorino cheese and mix. Cook 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the pasta with 2 ladles of cooking water and mix to coat well. Add the parsley and fish and mix gently. Serve and garnish with pecorino cheese.
Yes, salmon works very well in this recipe — it’s even the most common version of creamy fish pasta. Rainbow trout just gives a slightly more delicate taste and it’s a local Quebec fish, which I prefer. Steelhead is also an excellent substitute if you find it at the fish market. Frozen trout? No problem, thaw it slowly in the fridge, pat it dry well with paper towels, and you’re in business.
The key is not to overcook it. Four to five minutes in large chunks over medium heat is more than enough. You want the flesh to be just cooked, almost pink in the center. It will continue to heat up a bit when you incorporate it into the pasta at the very end. And above all, mix gently at this stage so you don’t crush the pieces that fall apart easily.
Yes, but the result will be different. Pecorino romano is saltier and more complex than parmesan thanks to its sheep’s milk. If you can’t find it, parmesan reggiano works — just reduce the salt elsewhere in the recipe because parmesan is less salty. Avoid generic grated Italian cheeses in bags that contain cellulose and melt less well.
This recipe is delicious reheated, but the sauce thickens a lot in the fridge. My trick: pour the pasta into a saucepan over low heat with a bit of milk or cream to loosen it. Stir gently until the sauce becomes creamy again, about 5 minutes. Avoid the microwave which dries out the fish and hardens the pasta.
This dish is almost complete on its own, but for a dinner that elevates the experience, serve my creamy pasta with trout and fennel with my pain à l’ail gratiné to soak up the cream or my salade fraîche de fenouil, oranges et olives noires which doubles the aniseed side. Add my salade César classique for the traditional Italian version or my salade verte de couscous aux pacanes et edamames for the fresh touch.
Cut the trout into large cubes and cook it in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring gently until just cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, then set it aside and fold it back into the sauce at the very end.
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