TROUT RECIPES 

                                         a Taupo specialty

Living in Taupo we have access to great trout fishing be it by the fly in the rivers or trolling, harling, jigging or down-rigging from a boat on the lake. Catch your trout and release it, or eat it - so a good trout recipe is always handy to have standing by, just in case. Friends have the ideal combination, Bob loves to fish and Margaret is an excellent cook.  Bob hasn't brought a trout home for you this time but when you catch your own here are a couple of Margaret's very own recipes and a couple from me for good measure

MARGARET'S GRILLED TROUT FILLETS

Fillet the trout taking bones out of the middle.

Leave skin on.  Lay on grilling dish and spread with

Salt & pepper

Oyster sauce

A little brown sugar

Squeeze some lemon juice over

Grill under a hot grill for 8 minutes. 

Cooked when meat lifts off the skin

LAKE TAUPO MOULD

A specialty for those pre dinner drinks

4 tsp Gelatine

3/4 cup Sour Cream

1 cup Gherkin Relish

1/4 cup Hot Water

1 cup Mayonnaise

Lemon Juice

Mix gelatine with hot water.  Mix other ingredients together and combine with gelatine mix. Break or cut trout up and mix with above.  Set in a lightly greased mould. Serve with dried bread squares or crackers.

Pintari is the boat owned by Bob and Margaret. Here we have Dino and Judi holding trout they have caught by the "jigging" method after an excellent day out on Lake Taupo with Bob

SUCCULENT SURPRISE

When we have visitors who bring home a trout and ask me to prepare it, I have one faithful standby method of cooking which never fails to impress.  After gutting and cleaning the fish, leaving both the head and tail intact, fill the opening of the fish with lemon slices and some fresh herbs.  Anything you have on hand will do - mint,  dill, rosemary,  or coriander sprigs.  Add salt & pepper and fold the fish back together.  Take seven pages of newspaper and using one full page, wrap the fish into a parcel and soak in fresh water until the paper is thoroughly wet-say for about five minutes. Continue wrapping the fish in this way until you have used the full seven pages-wrapping and soaking until the parcel is totally wet.  Place in an oven, heated to 200° C and cook 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the trout.  Remove from  oven and peel off the layers of paper.  You will find that the skin and bones can be removed with ease leaving a most succulent moist fish

TROUT FILLETS with a KERMIT DRESSING

First catch your trout then fillet, removing all bones

Glaze

Zest of  ½ lemon 

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp butter

1 tblsp of brown sugar

1 tblsp of olive oil

Melt butter in a pan until foaming.  Add oil, lemon juice and zest until bubbling.  Stir in the brown sugar until it caramelises. The consistency should be sticky.  Baste this liberally over the fillets and put under a hot grill for 5--10 minutes.  While cooking make the dressing.

Silver Beet/Spinach Dressing.

A cup of cooked spinach or silver beet (with all the white stalky parts removed)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tblsp fresh sweet basil

1 tsp  capers

1 tblsp butter

Olive oil

1 tsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp plain unsweetened yoghurt.

Add spinach, basil, chilli, capers and lemon juice to a blender and lightly combine.  Add butter and blend.  Slowly drizzle enough olive oil to get a smooth sauce  then blend in yoghurt.

Spoon a small amount over each fillet and serve