Archive for November, 2012

Recipe 12 is Trout and Crab Parcels

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

This exquisite starter was referred to be by old friend and colleague Jez from my former life as data marketeer at Occam (if you need any help with data marketing look no further than Occam DM Ltd) and it ranks up there with Recipe 11 as utterly delicious, easy to prepare and still incredibly healthy. 

Who could have known that this trout adventure would yield such treasures, even ever-patient ever-tolerant guinea pig Olly is crying out for more – those of you thinking of placing Christmas orders watch out, Troutledge’s Trout Gluttony is threatening stock levels.

delicous trout and crab parcels

This recipe is so simple to prepare and yet such an innovative gourmet adventure it is a dream.   I slightly tweaked Jez’s original ingredients to include my ever-favourite ginger and also couldn’t resist substituting his shallots for spring onion which I find a refreshing companion to the richer trout and crab.  Other than that this is his recipe verbatim and a complimentary pack of Moffat Water Food’s finest smoked trout will be winging its way down to him tomorrow.  

Got any more up your sleeve, Jez?  This one was inspired.

Ingredients

White crab meat (I used a frozen pack from my local fishmonger and couldn’t taste that it wasn’t fresh)
Pre-sliced cold smoked trout (now available for Christmas Orders from www.moffatwaterfoods.com)
Finely chopped red chili, ginger, coriander & spring onion (but try to avoid using a processor as this wastes precious juice, I use a double bladed roller chopper for this and nearly all my trout blog recipes)
Small amount of mayo, mustard & freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt & pepper, spring onion, lime/lemon wedge & some greenery to garnish (I forgot to keep any coriander aside so ended up using basil leaves which seemed to go down well)

trout parcel crab mixture

As you might have guessed to make the crab parcel filling simply mix all the ingredients together bar the trout and the garnish, but go canny with the lime juice as you don’t want the mixture to be too runny. 

prepping the trout parcels
It was a mother and daughter team effort.

making trout parcels 
Adding the crab mixture to the trout parcel base.

trout parcels nearly there
And voila, the parcel is formed.

Next make your parcel wrapping by making a trout George Cross on a small plate, add the crab mix into the centre, fold the trout leaves over the top and do the double plate trick to turn the parcel upside down and present a smooth top. Add your lime/lemon wedge, sprinkle of spring onion and choice of greenery and serve to oohs and ahs from the lucky recipients of your culinary prowess.

 trout parcels ready to go

For wine, Jez recommends Chardonnay, Fume Blanc, Viognier or Pinot Gris.  I have to admit to being so focussed on savouring the flavours of the parcels that I can’t remember what wine we had, but I’ve no doubt it was enjoyed.

Recipe 11 – Fragrant Prawns on a Bed of Trout

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

Recipe 11 owes its origins to a delicious prawn and avocado starter that friends Ed and Tiffany gave us a couple of weeks ago and that has now been shamefully – but successfully – hacked to fit the Troutblog bill, namely replacing the avocado with a bed of smoked trout.

fragrant prawn on a bed of smoked trout

Incredibly easy to put together it consists of cold water prawns (harvested from British waters) in a sauce of finely chopped ginger, chili, garlic and coriander mixed with a splash of fish sauce, roasted sesame oil (one of my favourite ingredients) and the juice of a lime or two.

sesame oil lime juice and smoked trout

The wonderful thing about Recipe 11 is that it is so easy to keep the ingredients in the freezer, particularily the ginger, fresh coriander and chili all of which have saved me countless times as last minute essentials in unplanned meals.

This means you can progress from disorganised chaos to delicious gastro-adventure  in only 10 mins, an essential trick to have up your sleeve for when you’ve forgotten about your hard-working husband needing to be fed after a day’s fish farming.

smoked trout easy to prepare easy to prepare prawns and smoked trout smoked trout keeping Olly happy

Its important to keep aside some of the coriander (or parsley if you don’t have any fresh coriander to hand) as a garnish and don’t forget to throw in an extra lime wedge to serve. 

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Marks out of 10:

Ease of Preparation: 10/10
Taste and Deliciousness: 10/10
Healthy and Nutritious: 10/10

Could this be the winning recipe so far? Only 39 more to go, watch this space…

smoked trout with coriander garnish