“I adore the smoked fish from our friends at Belhaven. The taste is just right. It’s a simple flavour and one that goes with a huge array of ingredients. Here I have given a few ideas but have a play around. Remember it is a rich fish, so it needs something to cut through that richness. Think capers, cornichons and pickles.”
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: 20 minutes; cooking time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Allow about 75g to 100g of smoked trout per person, I like to buy unsliced and slice it myself but sliced is good from Belhaven
1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and sliced
Half a red onion, peeled and sliced in to rings
100g caster sugar
100g cider vinegar
100ml water
A few mustard seeds
1 sprig of thyme
200g plain flour
Half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
10g chopped dill
Half a teaspoon fennel seeds
25g unsalted butter, cubed
150ml milk
Pinch of salt
A few radishes
Crème fraîche, optional
Twist of black pepper
METHOD
Heat the oven to 200°C / Gas Mark 7
To make the scones, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, dill, fennel seeds and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter to breadcrumb stage, then add the milk until it becomes a soft dough.
Dust a surface with flour and push the dough into a flat shape about 1-inch thick. Use a floured cutter, about a 2-inch diameter, to cut out the scones and place them on a greased baking tray. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
To make the pickles, boil together the water, sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds and thyme then add the sliced cucumber. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
To make the pickled red onion, place the onion slices in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then drain and pour over some of the pickling liquid.
To serve, simply arrange the smoked trout on a plate with a scone, the pickles, some halved radishes, a twist of black pepper and maybe some crème fraîche.