The work that went on before enjoying recipe 6: Selcoth Intra-Farm Pig Moving, with a little help from our friends.
The piglets last chance at the milk bar before moving to their new home out on the hill – all 20 of them, leaving their exhausted mothers in the orchard behind the house.
Brutus was almost adopted as a house-pig, or as Fergus’s kennel companion.
It was a team effort.
Happy in their new home.
A job well done.
Sunshine at last, the second of two meals we’ve managed to eat outside since moving north of the border – smoked trout, brocoli and parmesan fritatta.
A hard working crewe enjoying a well deserved lunch after pig moving and hay baling.
Hot smoked trout, broccoli and parmesan frittata (essentially an open omelette) cooked in a wok as I didn’t have a frying pan big enough to feed the hungry pig moving team.
Start off with the same principles as a large omelette (so x2 eggs per person, a splash of milk, salt, pepper & mixed herbs mixed well with a fork or hand whisk then added to a non-stick frying pan which already has a conservative amount of butter pre-melted and spread evenly throughout the base) and as soon as the omelette starts taking shape, throw in your hot smoked trout, par-boiled or steamed broccoli and, if wanting to make it a bit more substantial, some pre-cooked potatoes.
Add the grated parmesan last and pop a lid or plate over the top to help it melt, then once you are happy that the underside has started to brown up divide up into wedges and serve with a fresh green salad, ideally with some stronger tasting leaves such as rocket to cut across the richness of the egg and trout. We didn’t quite have enough Selcoth lettuce or broccoli for it be entirely home-sourced, but the eggs were from our own girls and the trout of course from our own ponds.
Ease of preparation: 8/10
Taste & enjoyment: 9/10
It was quick and easy to make and the verdict from the team was delicious – this is definitely one I’ll be revisiting.
Before we could begin Recipe 6 we were advised to move home, or at least to move the web address of this blog, and that has taken us some time. We are now back and raring to go with renewed enthusiasm for delicious trout, healthy cooking, sustainable farming and British production – so expect lots more. And the mission is the same, 52 trout recipes in 52 weeks, scroll down for details from the first post.
Sheep on Selcoth hill
Recipe 6 will be a smoked trout and broccoli frittata (open faced omelette) for a well deserved lunch after extracting the 18 remaining piglets from their sunny nursery and moving them to their new home up on the hill. Hopefully there won’t be too much chasing or too many bruises, I’m sure there will be some entertainment either way.
Piglets sun bathing
A la Jamie Oliver I hear you say and yes, you are quite right, this recipe was absolutely inspired by Jamie Oliver’s delicious looking rainbow trout fillets fried with fresh cherry tomatoes and capers on his happy kitchen-boat last summer.
Only problem was, we couldn’t find the recipe – so if anyone has it to hand then please send it through to us and we will post it up here. But all was not lost, Olly dug deep into his memory and between us we produced delicious fillets served with fragrant cardammon rice and fresh green rocket.
First we marinaded the fillets in olive oil, chopped chili & coriander, capers, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a spoonful of the caper vinegar.
Having paid close attention to Jamie’s demo we fried the fillets skin side down as this creates a protective membrane between the pan and meat and prevents any burning. We watched with glee as the deep orange of the fillets turned to a light pink indicating that they were cooked, and then happily devoured our trout with the rice, rocket and a glass of white.
I am delighted to report another success, the capers, chillies and coriander are fantastic trout companions.
With Martin & Launa’s enthusiasm proving infectious we decided to take on not just one but two rainbow trout courses on Saturday night, aided and abetted by some dutch courage following an afternoon of rugby watching / Scots sorrow drowning.
Starter – Cold Smoked Rainbow Trout Risotto
This was, honestly truly, the best risotto that any of us had ever tasted. It was breathtaking in its deliciousness, the smokey flavour of the cold smoked rainbow trout proving a wonderful bed-fellow to the richness of the risotto and Parmesan.
Mm hhh mm the best.
Main Course – Hot Smoked Rainbow Trout with Pak Choi, Sesame Seeds and Garlic & Ginger
Delicious in its own right and a wonderfully light and refreshing follower to the indulgence of the risotto. Amazing how different flavours lend themselves to the hot smoked versus the cold smoked, whoever thought of adding sesame seeds to hot smoked is a genius, not least because the pale pink looks so pretty against the delicate sesame seeds.
It was also the first time any of us had cooked Pak Choi and what a find, so easy to cook (you literally just throw it in with the rest of the ingredients, no need to par boil or steam) and so so delicious.
And this time even the pigs lucked out with delicious vegetable trimmings.
Photographs courtesy of Martin and Launa Slatter and their amazing new camera.
Recipe 2 = a triumph!
It was touch and go at one point (due to some over-enthusiastic slashing the first fillet nearly fell apart) but the ginger, garlic and chilli mixture turned out to be a triumph.
W added coriander to the marinade, were generous with the garlic and ginger and were delighted with how well the flavours infused the rainbow trout fillets – in fact we both decided it was the most delicious and flavoursome trout – or salmon – we’d ever had.
Marks out of ten:
8/10 for ease of preparation
10/10 for reward and enjoyment
‘The best!’
Our Version
See http://www.moffatwaterfoods.com/take-two-trout/rainbow-trout-with-ginger-garlic-chilli.htm
The full recipe in its original form can also be found on Moffat Water Foods Rainbow Trout Recipe Library:
See http://www.moffatwaterfoods.com/rainbow-trout-recipes/rainbow-trout-with-ginger-garlic-chilli.htm
Recipe 1 = a success!
Rainbow trout fillets baked on a bed of onions and limes, served with an indulgent spinach and mushroom sauce. A slight detour from the recipe since having successfully negotiated the filleting of the rainbow trout fillets we decided not to embark on the de-skinning, not on Recipe 1 at least.
Marks out of ten:
7/10 for ease of preparation
8/10 for reward and enjoyment
We couldn’t resist doctoring (and health-boosting) the original recipe by replacing the butter, flour and creme fraiche with olive oil, no flour and a tiny amount of Greek yoghurt.
We also baked the trout on a bed of onions and ginger (covered with tinfoil to prevent it drying out) because my said mother is also Dukan-Diet-Obsessed so fried trout was a no-no, and despite concerns from her less-health-conscious family it turned out to be a triumph.
‘Oh-me-ga it’s delicious’
See http://www.moffatwaterfoods.com/take-two-trout/rainbow-trout-with-spinach-and-mushroom-sauce.htm
The full recipe in its original form can also be found on Moffat Water Food’s Rainbow Trout Recipe Library:
Rainbow trout, hatched and reared on our home farm, prepared, cooked and enjoyed through 52 different recipes, in 52 weeks. What could be a more perfect coming together of two worlds?
Tonight it all began with Recipe Number 1, selected by Papa John Dorman, aided and abetted by the Mad Madre and guzzled down by all of us, even Olly who after 32 years of being a trout farmer’s son and now trout farming himself has taken on the challenge to not only endure but also enjoy each and every one of the 52 rainbow trout recipes.
Over the next 52 weeks we will be posting the highs and lows, triumphs and disasters of cooking rainbow trout using various and varied recipes from the UK and around the world. We will be uploading the original recipes to www.moffatwaterfoods.com/rainbow-trout-recipes and the details of how we fared, including any doctoring (intended or otherwise) to www.moffatwaterfoods.com/take-two-trout.
Win a Free Packet of Smoked Rainbow Trout
With 52 recipe slots to fill we will be looking for inspiration from any and every-where so, if you have any ideas or thoughts about cooking rainbow trout, please share them with us by posting a comment here on Trout Blog or emailing us at shara@moffatwaterfoods.com.
We promise that if we use your recipe we will send you a packet of hot or cold smoked rainbow trout, depending on which you prefer. Not sure of the difference? See www.moffatwaterfoods.com/rainbow-trout for photographs and descriptions of the different techniques.
