Hot smoked trout is very much underrated in my opinion – it’s relatively cheap and has a delicate, sweet flavour that’s just delicious. It’s the perfect ingredient to star in a crunchy, salad such as this one.
TO DRINK (F&HE): Steenberg Semillon is as rich and citrussy as this combination of salmon and lemon juice
Smoked trout with crunchy vegetable salad and extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients
- 2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced zest and juice of 1 lime
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- a small bulb of fennel, herby tops reserved
- a heart of celery, sticks separated and trimmed
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 1 cos or romaine lettuce
- ½ cucumber
- a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 4 fillets of smoked trout (about 100g each)
- 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped
Instructions
Place your lemon zest, half of the lemon juice and the lime’s zest and juice in a bowl. You can keep the remaining lemon juice and use it to dress another salad or add flavour to water. Pour in three times as much olive oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and whisk.
Get yourself a bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes. Cut the fennel bulb in half, then slice it very finely with a sharp knife or a mandoline and put the shavings in the icy water to crisp them. Finely slice the celery and, using a potato peeler, finely slice the carrots. Drop the celery and the carrot shavings in the icy water with the fennel.
Remove and discard the outer leaves of the lettuce. Shred the crisp yellowy-white inner leaves finely and place in a large mixing bowl. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Slice the cucumber thinly and add to the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the parsley.
Drain the fennel, celery and carrot, and spin in a salad spinner until dry – by now they’ll be crisp and curly. Add to the mixing bowl and toss in the lemon and lime dressing. Season well and scatter evenly over a large serving dish. Break the smoked trout fillets over the top and sprinkle with the chilli and the reserved fennel tops.
