Hooked from cool streams or purchased from the market, fresh trout make excellent summer eating.
In these recipes, you cook the fish
Market trout from fresh-water farms are most commonly available dressed (gutted) with head and tail intact. The whole dressed fish is also sold boned. Other forms you are likely to encounter are boned and butterflied trout minus head and tail, and fillets of trout.
One dressed 10- to 11-inch trout--from head to tail--weighs about 8 to 10 ounces and makes an ample single serving. If you're buying fish without a head and tail, purchase one weighing 7 to 9 ounces. Fillets (2 per person) should be 3 to 4 ounces each.
Select trout as you do all fish: the smell should be fresh, eyes clear and firm (not concave), and the body firm, not mushy. If you don't cook the fish immediately, store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator for no longer than a day or two.
Breakfast Trout Fry
1/2 cup firmly packed (3 oz.) chopped bacon
2 medium-size (3/4 to 1 lb. total) thin-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
Salad oil, optional
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme leaves,optional
2 whole 10- to 11-inch dressed trout with head and tail (8 to 10 oz. each), rinsed and patted dry
About 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, stir bacon occasionally until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Lift bacon from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Spoon out 2 tablespoons of the fat and set aside.
Add potatoes to pan and cook until they're brown on bottom, about 10 minutes (add salad oil, if necessary, to keep potatoes from sticking). Add onion and thyme; turn with a wide spatula to mix. Cook, turning 
occasionally, until potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced, about 12 minutes. Stir in bacon. Pour mixture onto a platter; keep warm.
Coat fish with flour; shake off excess. Add reserved bacon fat to pan; place over medium heat, and add trout. Cook until browned on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. With wide spatula, turn trout over and cook until other side is browned and fish is just opaque in thickest part (cut to test), 2 to 3 minutes more. Accompany trout with potato mixture; and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings.
Trout with Vegetable Stew
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed,seeded, and cut in 1/8-inch strips
1 pound zucchini or yellow crook-neck squash (or 1/2 lb. each), sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves,chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 whole 10- to 11-inch dressed trout with head and tail (8 to 10 oz. each), rinsed and patted dry
Lemon wedges
Salt
Melt butter in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion is limp, about 4 minutes. Add bell pepper, zucchini, tarragon, and pepper; cover and cook, stirring 
occasionally, until squash is tender-crisp, about 10 minutes.
Shake pan to make vegetables level, then lay trout on top; cover and cook until trout is just opaque in thickest part (cut to test), about 5 minutes. Transfer the trout and vegetables to a platter or plates. Accompany with lemon and salt to add to taste. Makes 3 servings.
Hot Trout Salad
4 trout fillets (3 to 4 oz. each; if not available, have fish filleted at the market), rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup chopped almonds
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 quarts lightly packed bite-size pieces tender romaine lettuce
1/2 cup lightly packed shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
Dressing (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper
Slice fillets crosswise into 1-inch-widepieces; set aside.
In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, cook almonds, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Pour from pan and reserve.
Melt butter in the pan; add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are lightly browned. Stir in lemon juice and shake pan to level mushrooms. Quickly lay trout pieces (push off a wide spatula) onto mushrooms. Cover and cook until trout is just opaque in center (cut to test), about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. 
Mix lettuce with almonds, cheese, mint,and dressing and spoon equal amounts on 4 dinner plates. Spoon equal amounts of the warm trout and mushrooms onto each salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4 servings.
Dressing. In a bowl, combine 3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon salad oil,
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