We've had a great spell of really good weather for a good number of days now and more to come!
I don't think we're quite setup for it on our rainy island and when we do get the odd day, we go mental, bust out the BBQs and crates of beer ... any extended period of such weather, we lose inspiration.
Looking to more sunny climes, I was inspired by a simple salad with a fish.
I'm using trout. Scots loch trout. Salmon would be absolutely fine. Sea bass would also be really nice, a tail fillet, simply fried off.
I've also got a handful of salad leaves, salad ingredients: cucumber, tomato, green olives, feta cheese, capers and pickled garlic; and a small portion of salad potato.
The salad was leftover from the weekend.
So, poached trout ...
Gut and scale the fish. If you've got a whole fish, reserve the thickest part at the head end for steaks, chopped straight through the fish. The tail end will give two really good fillets sliced from the bones. Pin bone and skin the fillets released from the tail.
To poach, simply immerse in boiled water and set the pan on a low simmer for around 5 minutes. These thin fillets take almost no time to fully cook through. For a posh poach, infuse the poaching liquor with tea. Tea poaching works for salmon, too.
Salad potatoes are lovely this time of year and you only need a couple of small ones or one large one per person, sliced and boiled for maybe eight or ten minutes.
Trout is reasonably fatty, but we can get more good fats in by swirling the drained potatoes around in butter with some herbs: dill, here. Tarragon would also be nice and both would work with trout or salmon.
Build the plate, based on a handful of salad leaves, scattered salad ingredients over, potato slices and then crown with a fillet, or two, of trout. Crème fraîche over, pea shoots to garnish and a slice of lemon to splash over.
Light, yet satiating.
