Poached trout, crunchy vegetable and herb salad recipe

29 June 2020, 15:53

This light dish is perfect for warmer weather. Picture: DEFRA

Summer dining can sometimes feel like one BBQ after another, but this fresh and delicious salad will coax you away from the coals for at least one night...

During lockdown we have all been doing more cooking than ever, but it's easy to run out of ideas.

However, this recipe from Michelin-starred chef Adam Byatt of Trinity in South London, is a fantastic summer dinner or sunny weekend lunch - and might get you trying and learning new preparation and cooking techniques you may have shied away from before.

Using trout fillets, it's been approved by DEFRA who have been busy promoting some of the delicious species of seafood that are caught in UK waters.

Along with trout, hake, monkfish, sole, coley, mackerel, herring, mussels and crab are all being championed by DEFRA, and can all be enjoyed served up in a variety of dishes.

The recipe was created by Adam Byatt from Trinity in Clapham. Picture: DEFRA

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 x 250g middle fillets of trout

1 fennel

1 red onion

1 carrot

1 small leek

200ml white wine vinegar

200ml White wine

200ml water

½ bunch dill

1 tsp. coriander seeds

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

200ml crème fraiche

Olive oil

The trout is served along the thinly sliced vegetables and creme fraiche. Picture: DEFRA

Method:

Peel and thinly slice the red onion. Cut the fennel in half and slice as thinly as you can. Peel and slice the carrot into thin disks. Peel the outside layer from the leek and cut finely.

Pick the dill from the stems.

Place all the vegetables into a heavy based saucepan and season well with salt and pepper.

Add the trout fillets, the bay leaf and the spices.

Add the water, wine and white wine vinegar.

Place a greaseproof paper lid on top of the trout and place onto a low heat.

Allow the pan to come to the boil and simmer for 1 minute maximum.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Now remove the trout from the pan and set aside.

Remove the vegetables and place into a bowl.

Into the bowl of vegetables add 6 tablespoons of the cooking liquid, add the dill and olive oil and serve as a side salad, place the trout next to this and a spoon of crème fraiche next to the fish to finish.