• Hot smoked trout is very much underrated in my opinion – it’s relatively cheap and has a delicate, sweet flavour that’s just delicious. It’s the perfect ingredient to star in a crunchy, salad such as this one.

    TO DRINK (F&HE): Steenberg Semillon is as rich and citrussy as this combination of salmon and lemon juice

    Smoked trout with crunchy vegetable salad and extra virgin olive oil

    Serves: 2
    Cooking Time: 40 mins

    Ingredients

    • 2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced zest and juice of 1 lime
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • a small bulb of fennel, herby tops reserved
    • a heart of celery, sticks separated and trimmed
    • 2 carrots, peeled
    • 1 cos or romaine lettuce
    • ½ cucumber
    • a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
    • 4 fillets of smoked trout (about 100g each)
    • 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped

    Instructions

    1

    Place your lemon zest, half of the lemon juice and the lime’s zest and juice in a bowl. You can keep the remaining lemon juice and use it to dress another salad or add flavour to water. Pour in three times as much olive oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and whisk.

    2

    Get yourself a bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes. Cut the fennel bulb in half, then slice it very finely with a sharp knife or a mandoline and put the shavings in the icy water to crisp them. Finely slice the celery and, using a potato peeler, finely slice the carrots. Drop the celery and the carrot shavings in the icy water with the fennel.

    3

    Remove and discard the outer leaves of the lettuce. Shred the crisp yellowy-white inner leaves finely and place in a large mixing bowl. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Slice the cucumber thinly and add to the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the parsley.

    4

    Drain the fennel, celery and carrot, and spin in a salad spinner until dry – by now they’ll be crisp and curly. Add to the mixing bowl and toss in the lemon and lime dressing. Season well and scatter evenly over a large serving dish. Break the smoked trout fillets over the top and sprinkle with the chilli and the reserved fennel tops.