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.
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)
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.
It was a mother and daughter team effort.
Adding the crab mixture to the trout parcel base.
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.
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.
Tags: smoked trout starter