#bakedtrout

I love to cook on a Sunday, and always try to make a healthy, balanced lunch from scratch. Recently I’ve been cooking fish as an alternative to the usual roast. This was baked Trout with lemon & caper dressing, served with crushed marie pipers and spinach. With just a few roasties on the side for added crunch! 

The spinach and potato combo is a staple in Croatia, and is usually served when ordering any form of fish at a restaurant. It’s simple, tasty and a good way to add greens to your plate. 

Recipe (for 2 people)

2 fillets of Trout (seabass also works well!)

Handful of fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

4 slices of lemon

Olive Oil 

500g Spinach (washed and stalks removed)

6 small - medium sized Marie Piper potatoes, peeled

Salt & Pepper

For the dressing

2 tbsp of Olive Oil

Grated zest of lemon, and 1 tsp of lemon juice

1 tbsp of small capers

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp fresh Flat Leaf parsley 

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

2. Peel and chop the potatoes. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add a pinch of salt and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, or until soft. 

3. Remove any thick stalks from the spinach, wash in a colander and slowly wilt the spinach in saucepan. You may need to do this in small batches. Add some spinach to the saucepan and a sprinkling of water, and cover. Gently heat for 3 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the pan and repeat until all spinach is cooked. Leave to one side. 

4. Make the dressing. Add all of the ingredients (except the parsley) to a jug, as well as 1tsp of water, and give it a good mix; a fork will do or a small hand whisk. Leave to the side.

5. Grab a handful of flat leaf parsley and roughly chop. Slice half a lemon into 4 thin slices. Place to one side.

6. Place a sheet of baking paper onto your baking tray, put the fish on top and gently open up the fillets. Drizzle a little olive oil into the fillets and stuff them with the parsley, and 2 slices of lemon per fillet. Season with salt & pepper and drizzle the outside of the fish with oil too. TIP - use a pastry brush if your olive oil is fast pouring from the bottle! Bake in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the flesh starts to flake. 

7. Whilst the fish is cooking, give your spinach a squeeze to remove any excess water. Place onto a chopping board and roughly chop.

8. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and return to the pan. Add the wilted spinach and a glug of olive oil. OPTIONAL - if you like garlic, add a tsp of lazy garlic too. 

Give it a good mix, crush the potatoes slightly as you mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

9. Remove the fish from the oven.