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This is a poaching recipe but the fish is then left to cool to make a delicious Italian style salad.
SALMON/TROUT AND CUCUMBER SALAD
Salmon/trout fillets - 4
R
ipe tomatoes - 4, sliced
Cucumber - 1, peeled and sliced into rounds
Basil - 1tbsp, chopped
Chives - 1tbsp, snipped
Sea salt
For the Dressing
Olive oil - 6tbsp
White wine vinegar - 2tbsp
Shallot - 1tbsp, chopped
Garlic - 1 clove, chopped
Sea salt
White pepper
Cut each fillet in half (not lengthways) and place in a shallow pan. Pour in water to cover and add a pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat so that the surface of the water in barely trembling. Poach for just 3 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan and set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, whisk the oil, vinegar, shallot and garlic in a bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Pour half the dressing onto a serving dish and chill in the fridge for one hour.
To serve, arrange the tomato and cucumber slices on the serving dish, place the poached fillets on top and sprinkle with the basil and chives. Pour over the remaining dressing.
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That's enough poaching recipes to keep you busy. Here are some alternative cooking ideas.
CHINESE TROUT
(THIS RECIPE REQUIRES A STEAMER)
Trout fillets or whole small trout, cleaned
Spring onions - chopped
Ginger - about the size of your thumbnail, grated
Soy sauce - a few glugs
Oil - a few drops of sesame or nut oil
Coriander - chopped
Wipe a plate with the oil and place the fish on it and put the plate into the steamer. Sprinkle with the onion and ginger and the soy sauce. Cover and steam for 5-6 minutes, ensuring that the fish is completely cooked. Scatter the chopped coriander over and serve straight from the plate.
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TROUT WITH CAPERS
T
rout fillets
Olive oil - a drizzle
Capers - a small handful
Butter - 1 large knob
Seasoning
Parsley - chopped
Drizzle the olive oil over the fillets and season them. Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 200C/gas 6 for about 20 minutes until cooked. Just before they are done, heat the butter in a pan and when it starts to brown remove it from the heat. Add the capers and a squeeze of lemon. Place the cooked fillets on a serving dish, pour over the butter sauce, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
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BACON WRAPPED TROUT
1 large whole trout or several smaller trout- gutte
d and scaled
12 thin streaky bacon rashers
2 slices of lemon
Few sprigs of rosemary and thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil to drizzle
This recipe should feed 3 or 4. Reduce quantities for smaller fish. Pre-heat oven to 200C/gas 6. To scale the fish simply scrape a sharp knife down the sides several times to gather the scales. Wash and pat the fish dry with kitchen towel. Diagonally score both sides with a sharp knife. Rub inside and out with the salt and pepper and place the rosemary and thyme in the cavity with the slices of lemon.
Lightly oil a baking tray and arrange the bacon slices in it to form a row with their sides slightly overlapping. Place the trout on the bacon and wrap the bacon over the trout to cover it. Drizzle over a little of the oil and bake in the over for 25-30 minutes until the fish is cooked through. The way to check whether fish is cooked is to insert a knife into the thickest part of the shoulder and press it gently to one side. The flesh should come away easily from the bone. Serve with new potatoes and a fresh salad which can be prepared while the fish cooks.
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FISHCAKES
Waxy Potatoes - 350g
salmon/trout fillets - 450g
Butter - 40g
Zest of 1 lemon
Parsley - chopped
Flour 2tbsp
Egg - 1, beaten
Breadcrumbs - 2tbsp
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper to season
Boil the potatoes and cook the fish. You can steam, microwave or poach the fish as you prefer. Crush the potatoes with the back of a fork, folding in the butter as you go - be gentle, you don't want smooth mash. Flake the cooked fish and add it to the potatoes, together with the lemon zest, parsley and salt and pepper to season. Mix well but still folding gently to try and retain the texture of the potatoes and fish. Use a large biscuit cutter to form the patty by filling it with the mixture and then gently pushing it out onto a tray. Chill the patties to firm them up.
Roll the fishcakes in flour, dip into the beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs until they are totally covered. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry about five minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. You can stop the frying half way through and then freeze the fishcakes for use at a later date, when they will need to be thawed and fried to heat and finish.
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SALMON/TROUT TARTARE
You really do need fresh fish for this recipe, which is virtually a sushi type dish, but served with Italian ciabatta bread.
Salmon/ trout fillet - 350g, very fresh
Soy sauce - 2tsp
Wor
cestershire sauce - 1tbsp
Shallot - 1 peeled and very finely chopped
Fresh herbs - eg dill, chervil, chives, finely chopped
Olive oil - 1tbsp
Ciabatta bread
Olive oil - to drizzle
Sea salt
Black pepper - freshly ground
Preheat oven to 200C/gas 4. Cut the bread into diagonal strips about 2-3cm wide. Drizzle the olive oil lightly over the bread, season and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Cut the fish fillets into cubes about 1-1¼ cm and place in a bowl. Add the soy and Worcestershire sauces to the bowl, together with the shallots, herbs and olive oil. Toss well to coat the fish cubes and season to taste. Chill for at least twenty minutes, allowing the flavours to infuse. To serve, top the hot bread with the fish and drizzle over any remaining marinade.
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SALMON WITH TOMATO AND CHERVIL (SERVES 6)
Salmon, sea trout or trout - 1 piece about 1.5kg
Extra virgin olive oil - 80 ml
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Fennel - 1 bulb finely chopped
Celery - 3 sticks finely chopped
Red chilli - 1 finely chopped (optional)
Cherry tomatoes - 600g quartered
Pernod - 3tbsp
Chervil and marjoram - 1 large handful
Lemon - 1juice and zest only
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Heat half the olive oil in a pan over a low heat and add the onion, fennel and celery - and the chilli if desired. Sweat the vegetables for 5-10 minutes until they turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, herbs, lemon zest and juice and the Pernod. Season well and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Place the fish inside a double layered piece of aluminium foil and season generously inside and out with both salt and pepper. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil and the juice of the mixture over the fish and then stuff half the mixture inside the fish and the rest on top of it. Wrap the foil around the fish to seal it completely and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. It's done when the flesh just comes away from the bone. Serve with new potatoes tossed in butter.
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TERIYAKI SUPPER FOR 4
Salmon, sea trout or trout - fillets
Light soy sauce - 5tbsp/75ml
Brown
sugar - 50g
Sake - 1tbsp/15ml
Mirin (sweet rice wine) - 8tbsp/125ml
Ginger - 1 tbsp fresh grated
Garlic - 1 clove peeled and crushed
Sesame oil - 1tsp/5ml
Spring onions - 2 sliced
Olive oil - 2tbsp for the pan/grill
Noodles - thick soba (can be bought pre-cooked and vacuum packed)
Just mix the soy, sugar, sake, mirin, ginger, garlic and sesame oil in a bowl and marinate the fish in it for 20 minutes or so. Heat the oil in a pan or oil the grill. Remove the fish from the marinade and add the fish to the hot oil, cooking two or three minutes on each side.
Remove the fish, add the rest of the marinade to a pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes before adding the noodles to heat - 2 or 3 minutes is enough, turning the noodles a couple of times to heat and soak up the marinade. Pop the noodles onto a plate or bowl with the marinade and place the fish on top. Alternatively, you can pop the fish on the bbq, simmering the marinade in an uncovered pan for 5 minutes while the fish cooks. Sprinkle the spring onions over the fish to dress.
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