Smoked Trout Wraps

I love wraps. When I first had one, it was stuffed with ham, lettuce, sweet corn and red pepper, it felt totally exotic to me, which seems completely daft now but that’s how it felt, for goodness sake, I thought subway was gourmet food. Mind you after eating pork chops, boiled potatoes, and peas and carrots out of a jar – frozen pizza, spaghetti with tomato sauce and scrambled egg, every week, anything would seem gourmet after that. When I moved in with Glen, wraps became a regular staple in our house, sometimes we would eat them as a main meal, other times I would make them for lunch or midnight drunken munchies. I’ve filled them with all sorts of things, smoked salmon, crab, prawns, tuna, bacon and egg; I have made BLTs and chicken Caesar. These smoked trout ones are really very good. Mager Quark is a German low fat – yogurt, cheese type substance, similar to fromage frais or ricotta, because it is low fat, it makes a slightly healthier option to mayonnaise, but still gives you that moistness that you get mayonnaise, less of the fat. I prefer mayo, but I have used Ranch, Greek yogurt and salad cream. I sometimes use cream cheese, like Philadelphia which is also quite nice. The trout paste that makes up these wraps is really delicious and would make a lovely start served in little bowls with warm toast, or you could serve it on top of tiny bite sized toasts, with the paste piled high on top.

Smoked Trout Wraps

250g smoked trout

50g mager quark

1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1-2tbsp lemon juice

1 bunch of chives

4 green lettuce leaves

4 tortilla wraps

1.       Shred the trout, and then add the quark, oil, salt and pepper, and 1tbsp of the lemon juice. Puree the trout mixture but leave it a little chunky. Wash the chives and finely chop, and then add them to the trout puree, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

2.       Once your mixture is chilled, season with salt and pepper and the remaining lemon juice. Wash the lettuce and slice, warm the wraps according to the package directions, layer first with the lettuce, then the trout paste, wrap and then cut an angle.

Trout Swiss Style

Well if you like trout, then this is one for you, it’s traditionally a Swiss dish. It was made equally by the rich and the farming homes. Trout used to be cheap around the around the lakes, and were bigger than those found in the brooks – I’m a fountain of useless information…….

 Lake Geneva Trout Fillets

2 large trout, filleted but not skinned

100g shallots, finely diced

50g mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

50g butter

150ml sour cream

100ml white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

4tsp chopped parsley

2tsp salt

Pepper

1tsp garlic powder 

1. First preheat your oven to 180˚C, 350˚F, gas 4. Grease a shallow oven proof dish with the butter, then place a thick layer of the shallots in the bottom, sprinkle with a little salt. Next season your trout with salt and pepper, the lemon juice and garlic powder, put them in the dish on top of the shallots, next layer with the mushrooms followed by the tomatoes and parsley.
2. Pour the wine over the top, cover with baking paper and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and carefully pour the cooking fluid into a pan, add the cream and cook for a few minutes. Then put it over the trout again. Serve with buttered potatoes and a crispy green salad.