Orange Baked Rainbow Trout

An interesting week. With the development of a new menu next week, and the implementation of various staffing strategies, I have found myself with a little more free time than usually available. Aside from an ongoing project of monitoring personal calorie consumption and absorption, (the calculations required can be particularly extensive) as a means to implement a healthier and better performing diet, i have found time to cook a lot more in personal time.

Today I finally got the opportunity to try out the recipe I was intending to try out last week - The orange baked rainbow trout. I had two friends come over tonight to test the recipe, but alas one of them was not a fish fan, and as a result of such I cooked a vegetarian dish just for her - a broccolli, potato and onion gratin (not unlike a variation on dauphinoise potatoes). The beauty of this dish as a gratin is that it can be served as a main meal, or in fact as a sundry to accompany almost any kind of meal. the flavour is really delicious and delicate, and if you have the time it is well worth the effort.

Looking back to the trout though,this recipe is in fact moderately cheap. I obtained two rainbow trout from Aldi, which were a phenomenal bargain. £2.50 (GBP) for the pack of two, which were of an excellent size and quality. The only downside to this is that they were frozen, but not to worry. Since I purchased them two weeks ago I put them in the freezer until I found the time to use them.

The beauty of this recipe is that it is remarkably simple. There is little preparation required providing the fish is already de-boned. If the head and tail are intact its a fair bet it will not be, which means you will have to split, de-bone, and de-head the trout yourself which will only take a matter of minutes. You can find instructions for preparing rainbow trout here .

You will need: Ingredients:

(serves 2)

2 Cloves crushed garlic
2 Rainbow trout (prepared - see above)
1 Large orange (zested)
2 sprigs thyme

Equipment:

deep baking tray / tin
Tinfoil
Medium oven (about 150 degrees C)

Once you have a prepared trout, (head, tail and fins removed, and deboned), open out the fish. Inside the fish add half of the orange zest, one thyme sprig and the crushed garlic clove. Fold the fish back over and repeat with the other trout.

When ready place the trout in the baking tray with a knob of butter. Cover the tray in foil, then place the tray int he oven for approximately 15 - 20 mins until the fish is tender, and is cooked all the way through. You can test this by opening the fish and making a small incision into the flesh to see.



Before serving, be sure to discard the zest and the garlic from the centre of the fish.

This dish is ideally served with broccolli or fresh asparagus, and steamed or boiled salad potatoes.