4 trout, about 10 ounces each, gutted
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 bay leaves
4 slices pancetta
4 tablespoons chopped shallots
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ cup dry white wine
24 green olives, pitted
salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the trout well under cold running water. Drain and pat them dry with paper towels. Lightly brush oil onto four pieces of baking parchment, each large enough to enclose one fish. Lay one fish on each piece of oiled paper, then place a bay leaf in each cavity and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Carefully wrap a slice of pancetta around each fish, then sprinkle with one tablespoon each of shallots and parsley. Drizzle each fish with one tablespoon olive oil and two tablespoons white wine. Add six olives to each packet. Close the paper loosely around the fish, rolling the edges together to seal them completely. Bake for 25 minutes. To serve, place each packet on an individual plate and open at the table.
Baking whole trout with pancetta and olives in paper packets keeps in all the rich flavors and moisture, giving a wonderful juicy and succulent result. The trout look very attractive served at the table still wrapped in their paper.
