“Short story collections are the literary equivalent of canapés, tapas and mezze in the world of gastronomy: Delightful assortments of tasty morsels to whet the reader's appetite.”
Alex Morritt (2012)
Chatting in the farmers’ market with Charlie of Charlie's Trout is always a real pleasure. He speaks with passion about his devotion to the best possible practices he employs in the production process of his outstanding smoked and natural trout. It’s a fantastic example of what farmers’ markets have to offer at their best. Just, within the time of a 15 minute conversation with him at his stand, his produce is literally flying off the stall, and in quantity!
He’s been as keen as I have to discuss recipe ideas and a little while ago I chanced upon something of an oldie in the “Good Housekeeping Cookery Book” (50th Anniversary edition) from 1998 that brought me to try this out. It was listed as “Smoked Salmon and Dill Roulades” but when I dug in I found that the filling was in fact smoked trout (the hot-smoked kind). Why not then surround them by sliced cold-smoked trout fillets rather than sliced smoked salmon fillets? Absolutely no reason that I can see having tried it a few times. In fact, much to the contrary. And no willing taste-testing neighbours (haven’t come across an unwilling one yet, mind!) have complained. There's something rather satisfying about the idea of two products from a single producer going into one somewhat classic but elegant dish, like these rather splendid canapés.
It's difficult to give an exact weight of the cold-smoked trout fillet required to surround these roulades simply because, if they come pre-sliced, which is preferable, the size of the slices cannot be predicted. However, it should suffice to say that, 150g to hand should achieve the task of making the 15 pieces this recipe proposes.
Smoked Trout Roulades
Ingredients (Makes about 15 one-inch pieces)
65g hot-smoked trout filllet, broken into pieces
½ tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tbsp horseradish sauce
35g cream cheese
1½ tsp lemon juice
30g double cream, whipped to between the "soft-peaks" and "stiff-peaks" stages
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g (approx, see recipe intro) cold-smoked trout fillets, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
Salad leaves or whole dill sprigs, for presentation (optional)
Lemon slices, for presentation (optional)
Method
Put the hot-smoked trout, lemon zest, horseradish sauce and cream cheese in the container of an electric blender and pulse until almost smooth. Turn into a bowl, stir in the lemon juice then fold in the whipped double cream. Season to taste with the salt and freshly ground black pepper, but don't be surprised if not much salt is required. This mixture can be kept in the fridge until needed and will benefit for a little time in the fridge in any case.
Prepare a piping bag (or equivalent) with a round nozzle of 1½-2 cm diameter and fill it with the smoked trout mixture.
On a sheet of cling film create a rectangle of the cold-smoked trout fillet which is 5" wide and as long as the slices have come, to create the wrapping. If it requires more than one piece to create the 5" width then just press the pieces together taking care not to create any unnecessary holes. Pipe the trout mixture along the length of the wrapping, about ½" from the nearest edge and, using the cling film to help, roll the wrapping around the filling to create a stuffed tube. Transfer to a plate lined with greaseproof paper and repeat with the remainder of the ingredients. Put in the fridge for at least an hour to set, but a 20 minute stint in the freezer before slicing will be even better.
When ready to slice, cut off each rough end of the rolls. Slice the first piece on the diagonal at an angle of roughly 45° to create a length of approximately 1". Slice the next piece directly across to create a similar serving. Repeat until all the roulades have been cut. These can be kept, again, in the fridge for at least a day or so.
Before serving, dip the ends of the roulades in the chopped dill and serve on a platter over a bed of salad leaves or amongst whole dill sprigs and lemon slices.
References
"Good Housekeeping Cookery Book", The National Magazine Company and The Hearst Corporation (1998), pp. 77: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Housekeeping-Cookery-Book-Companion/dp/184340592X
Links
Charlie's Trout, website accessed 29 August 2021