I love the fact that my work colleague Neil Owens tested this recipe for the Cooking With Columbo book with a couple of fish he’d caught himself, how cool is that?! Here’s his report. Mmm. I want one of these right now!
Having caught two reasonable sized trout – mine were 2 ½ lb and 3lb – the fish were cleaned and left in the fridge overnight for the rigor mortis to subside. The stuffing was made thick so it would stay in the cavity while cooking. Once stuffed, butchers string was used to keep everything in and together. Cooking was only about 35 mins in a pre-heated fan oven, but fish should be ‘just’ cooked in my opinion. Foil envelopes were made and together with the fish a couple of tablespoons of dry white wine and a similar amount of olive oil were added. Once crimped shut they went in the oven.
Upon opening, the parcels were emptied onto a plate and the flesh removed from the backbone (kids seem to love watching this process). Portions were served with the egg/spring onion mix and some couscous. The juice from the foil cooling parcels made an excellent dressing.
I found the recipe very tasty, in a delicate way – the light herby stuffing goes well with the fish. It’s an excellent summer supper. Or chilled and taken on a picnic, with a bottle of dry white.
THANK YOU NEIL – I do like the idea of a picnic, but not right now, it’s freaking freezing here in London! Here’s Billy’s recipe if you fancy trying it…
Neil didn’t send any pix, so here’s a photo of my trout when I made this dish in September 2016. Ooh, I remember that bottle of wine from my chums Mr and Mrs Prohibition Wines…
Billy Connolly’s Stuffed Trout
2 fresh trout, preferably brown
2 peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh basil
2 teaspoons ground walnuts and almonds
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon chopped spring onions (scallions)
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, 350 degrees F, Gas 4.
Have the trout cleaned, or do this yourself. Rinse and pat dry. To make the stuffing, combine the tomatoes, basil, and nuts. The consistency is up to yourself, but I like it to be a thick, stiffish paste. Stuff the trout with the mixture and wrap each fish in a piece of lightly greased foil. Bake for 50 minutes.
Just before the fish is ready, mash the hard-boiled eggs with the spring onions. Serve this with the trout.
Billy says, “May your taste buds dance a wild jig!”
