Nettle and Quince

Saturday came on the heels of a rather glum Friday when our predicament and the ever-encroaching mid-afternoon twilight seemed to suck most of the bounce out of my step. In which moment it is good to spend most of the drizzly weekend day on the sofa finishing a book.

When, wholly unexpectedly, a friend drops by unannounced bearing an enormous trout that he just caught in Walthamstow reservoirs. The mood was lastingly shifted. It’s ok to wallow for a day; tomorrow, often, things will look up!

Leek and lemongrass trout

One or two trout(s) depending on the size
4 leeks
5 or 6 spring onions
2 lemongrass stalks
1 or 2 fresh chillis
Half a lime
A small piece of ginger
Sunflower oil
Rice wine vinegar
Light soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

To gut the trout (unless the fishmonger has done it), cut a slit through half of the fish’s belly up to its head and pull out all the insides.

To prepare the leeks: cut off the ends, remove any tough outer leaves, wash any obvious soil/grit, then slice very thinly and wash again in a bowl of cold water. Drain well.

To prepare the spring onions: cut off the ends and remove the outer layer of green. Rinse briefly under running water. Slice the stalks at a slant into disks. Use the same method to prepare the lemongrass.

Rinse, cut open and remove the seeds, and thinly slice the chillis into rings.

Cut the lime into half moons. Peel and slice the piece of ginger.

Drizzle a little oil all over an oven dish. Scatter the leeks in a long oval where the trout will lie. Toss with about a teaspoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of soya sauce. Place the trout on top of the seasoned leeks. Stuff the trout’s cavity with the lime and ginger. Scatter the lemongrass, spring onions, and chillis over the trout. Drizzle again with about one teaspoon rice vinegar and one tablespoon soya sauce.

Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the trout(s). (With fish I prefer to be extra careful and err on the side of underbaking, and if necessary putting the fish back into the oven for a few minutes.)

Related post:

Trout in a paper package

This entry was posted on 19 November 2020 at 13:25 and is filed under Easy, Fish / Seafood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.