Rick Stein's Old Trout Recipe

Steven Stern, our local GP and Club member, has built up an enviable reputation for his culinary skills in the kitchen (where else?). Steven also has his culinary heroes and Rick Stein is certainly one of these. As a lover of anchovies I might be tempted to try this recipe.


A Brief History Of This Recipe
"It's a real pleasure to find an old recipe with a modern feel. This particular recipe dates back from 1820 and the extraordinary thing is that the sauce elements are like the fashionable Italian sauce, salsa verde, and they have the same function - to partner a nice plump trout or freshwater pollan with some piquant flavours." - Rick Stein, Dec 2000.


Ingredients
4 Rainbow Trout, cleaned & gutted (Keep the heads on, as they complete the presentation of this dish, even though the eyes go squishy.)
50ml / 2floz dry white wine
50ml / 2floz water
50g / 2oz butter
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
Small bunch of fresh chives
3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tbsp capers, drained & rinsed
6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Note:
Metric & imperial measurements are not strictly equivalent: always use one or the other.


Action
1) Pre heat the oven to 200degc/400degf/gas mark 6.
2) Season the trout lightly inside & out and put them in a shallow baking dish.
3) Pour over the wine and water, then dot the fish here and there with half the butter.
4) Cover with foil and bake for 25mins.
5) Pile the herbs, capers, anchovy fillets and garlic onto a board and chop together into a coarse paste. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the mustard & lemon juice.
6) Beat the remaining butter in a small bowl to soften it and then mix in the flour to make a smooth paste.
7) Remove the trout from the oven and carefully pour off the cooking liquor into a small pan.
8) Cover the trout again and keep warm.
9) Place the cooking liquor over a medium high heat, bring to a simmer and then whisk in the butter and flour paste. Leave it to simmer for 1 minute, stirring until smooth and thickened.
10) Stir in the herb mixture and take the pan of the heat.


To Serve
Put the trout on warmed plates, spoon over the sauce on about half of the fish (so the head is still visible) and serve to the table.


Accompaniments
We sometimes have a jacket potato and a small salad, or just a green salad on the side. My favourite is just to have this fish with some warm new potatoes and little bit of green salad.


ENJOY!