It’s January, the month that jeans are tighter and belts have an extra hole in them. After over indulging over Christmas and to be honest the later part of the year I’m going to start eating a little bit less and a little more healthily. So to kick start my healthier living drive here’s something very healthy but more importantly tasty. This recipe serves 2-4 for a meal or 4 small portions. You can cook the trout one day and have it cold for your diet size lunches or dinners with the freshly cooked beans and pak choi.
Ingredients
For the trout
1 rainbow trout
1 lemon
Handfull of dill
Handfull of lemon thyme
Salt and pepper
For the pak choi and beans
3-4 medium pak chois
200g green beans
1 tsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp of sesame oil
2 garlic cloves
Chilli flakes
3 tbsp of sesame seeds
Soy sauce
Pepper
Method
Set your oven to 180°C. Remove the guts from the trout or get your fish monger to do it for you. You can also get them to remove the head if you wish. Place a large piece of kitchen foil on a baking tray. It needs to be large enough so you can fold over and make a parcel with the fish inside. Slice up the lemon and add a third of the slices on the foil sheet season the slices with salt and pepper. Place the fish on top of the slices and add the second third of lemon slices inside the belly cavity along with most of the dill and lemon thyme. Season the top side of the fish with salt and pepper followed by the remaining lemon and herbs. Fold over the foil and make a tightly wrapped parcel so none of the lemony steam can escape. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes.
After 15 minutes it’s time to start the pak choi and beans. Top and tail the beans, then cut into 2-3 pieces followed by separating the pak choi into individual leaves. In a wok or large frying pan add the groundnut oil and place on a medium heat. After the oil starts to “shimmer” add the beans with the garlic and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the pak choi and wilt for 5 minutes stirring all the time. Then add the sesame oil, couple dashes of soy sauce, chili flakes with a couple of grinds of pepper and give one final mix. Transfer onto a large serving plate and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Make an oblong hole in the pak choi and beans for the fish to rest in. By this time the trout should be ready so unwrap the foil parcel and remove the lemon and herbs. Place the fish onto the large platter and serve so that everybody can dig in.