Trout with Pea & Watercress Purée

My friend Naomi bought me a year’s sub to Olive magazine for Christmas - yay! It’s such a treat to have it delivered every month, have a good read and decide what to earmark for cooking later. March’s issue was very timely for me having a feature on eating out in Marrakech (me and the BF are going in a few weeks) but it also had a lot of recipes I can’t wait to try.

The first was trout (the recipe actually specified sea trout but I’m pretty sure mine was just river trout - they’re actually biologically identical anyway) with a pea-based purée: very simple, with only a handful of ingredients, to prepare and cook and very, very tasty. Pretty good for you too!

Trout resembles salmon in appearance but is smaller, with a silver, black-flecked skin and oil-rich flesh. It has a subtle and delicate flavour with a fine texture.

Trout with Pea & Watercress Purée
serves 2

200g frozen peas
2 knobs of butter
100ml chicken stock
75g watercress, reserve a small handful
6 slices Prosciutto Speck, chopped
2 trout fillets
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Put the peas in a pan with a knob of butter and the stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until the peas are tender.

Stir in the watercress and cook for a minute more. Take off the heat and let cool a little before using a stick blender to blitz to a rough purée.

Meanwhile heat a non-stick frying pan and cook the prosciutto until golden and crisping. Remove from the pan, leaving any fat that may have come off the prosciutto, and set aside.

Season the fish fillets with the salt and pepper then add to the frying pan, rounded side down. Add the second knob of butter and cook on a medium-low heat for about 4 minutes until golden. Flip the fish over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Reheat the pea purée and spoon onto 2 plates. Lay a fillet of trout on each mound of purée, then sprinkle over the prosciutto and reserved watercress.

Serve with boiled or steamed new potatoes tossed with a little butter and chopped parsley.