The perfect meal for two

On Valentine's Day I cooked this pan-fried trout with salad and it really was the perfect meal for two, something simple yet special.

Pan-fried trout with mixed salad, bacon, almonds and beetroot

For two people:

olive oil (for frying)

butter (for frying)

2 trout fillets (boned)

140g lardons

about 100g sourdough bread (cut into croutons) - you can use ready-made croutons but this dish is definitely better with home-made ones

handful flaked almonds

50g water cress (or mixed salad - we used one with a mixture of watercress, rocket and baby leaf spinach)

about 160g beetroot (not in vinegar, diced)

For the dressing:

3tbsp olive oil

1tbsp red wine vinegar

This dish was made a little tricky by the fact that I only have one hob but I didn't let that put me off trying.  This would be far easier if you have two (as you can start with the fish and while that is cooking prepare the lardons, croutons and the salad.  However, in order to make this work I prepared it in a slightly different order.

First, toast the flaked almonds in a dry pan over a medium heat, until they turn golden, this will take a few minutes but keep an eye on them and toss them gently and regularly so they don't burn.  Once ready set them aside in a bowl for later.

Add about 1tbsp oil to a frying pan,  and fry the bacon lardons and croutons for about 10 mins until they are crisp (you will need a medium to high heat for this).  Once again, set aside.

Now heat 1tsp olive oil with 25g butter in a non-stick frying pan (large enough to hold your two pieces of trout).  Heat the oil and butter until they start to sizzle, then add the two pieces of fish, skin-side down and fry for 10-15 mins, basting often, until the skin is crisp and the fish has cooked through.  Then, turn the fish over for a minute, before serving, skin-side down.  Be careful when turning the fish as it may break.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the salad.  In a small bowl whisk together the oil and vinegar for the dressing with some seasoning.  Toss your salad, beetroot, lardons, croutons, almonds and dressing together in a large bowl.  Once the trout is cooked serve it with the salad on the side.

As this was a special meal we set the table and decided to open a bottle of wine.  Last year when I was in Germany I discovered a couple of new grape varieties which I hadn't previously known about; silvaner, bacchus and Müller-Thurgau.  Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find wines from the Franken region in England as they aren't generally exported.  So I decided to see if I could find a wine made from one of grapes.  Thanks to my wine society membership I was able to find an English Bacchus from the Chapel Down Winery in Kent.  It was a lovely, fresh wine that went very well with the fish with its elderflower scent and tangy, fruity flavours.

Rather than eating dessert we decided to drink it instead!  We'd been meaning to drink my Royal Tokaji, 2008, (a gift from my parents) for a while and this seemed like the perfect occasion.  Tokaji (pronounced 'Tokay' in English) is a region in northeast Hungary which is particularly known for its sweet, dessert wines (Aszú).  Needless to say, I loved the wine (I have a very sweet tooth) and it was the perfect end to a lovely meal.

Recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood Magazine

Rabbit food

Sorry I haven't posted for a while - I had a lot of essays to write!  The theme of this post is salad and I'm going to start off with a combination that I discovered this year and have fallen in love with, warm chickpea and feta salad (apologies for the poor quality of the picture, I took this on my phone).

Warm Chickpea and feta salad

I posted a picture of this on twitter when I made it and here's the recipe:
For 2 portions you will need:
1tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
100g spinach leaves
1 red pepper (de-seeded and sliced)
1 red chilli (de-seeded and sliced) or chilli flakes
4 spring onions
100g cherry tomatoes (halved)
400g can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
40g feta (or similar cheese)

For the dressing whisk 1tsp olive oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper.  (If you prefer you can leave out the paprika although personally I really like it.)  Divide the spinach evenly between two plates or bowls.  Heat the rest of the oil in the frying pan and stir-fry the pepper for 5mins over a high heat until starting to caramelise at the edges.  Add the chilli (or leave it out if you're not keen on spicy food), spring onions and tomatoes and stir-fry for another minute.  Stir in the chickpeas and dressing and cook for one more minute.  Spoon the hot mix onto your spinach and you're good to go!  This takes very little time to prepare and is absolutely delicious!

If you want a salad which is a little less faff (although really 15 minutes isn't long), then this is the perfect lunch for you.  It is a super-simple mozzarella, tomato and basil salad with some added rocket to make it a little greener!  Simply slice a tomato and a ball of mozzarella (about 125g) then sprinkle over some dried basil (of course if you have fresh basil then this is ideal but I tried keeping one of those alive at university and it didn't go well)!  Place the rocket in the middle of the plate and dribble over some balsamic vinegar, season to taste and there you have it, one quick and easy lunch.  This dish is probably more appropriate for summer but I do still enjoy it now if I want a light lunch.

Tomato, mozzarella, basil and rocket

Now, I realise that omelettes aren't technically salads but I think they fit in with the whole 'light lunches' theme.  Omelettes are, like salads, super simple to make.  Simply whisk 3 eggs (or more if you're quite hungry!) in a bowl, melt some butter in a frying pan over a medium to high heat and pour in the eggs.  You then let it cook, while shaking the pan back and forth and using a spatula to ensure the mixture doesn't stick.  You can essentially add anything to an omelette (my favourite is mushrooms which I fry before making then omelette).  The one below contains mushrooms, cherry tomatoes (halved) and parsley.  Essentially tip your choice of ingredients onto one half of the omelette then, once the egg is cooked (make sure it is still moist in the middle) flip the other half over.  The picture below doesn't demonstrate this very well as it broke in the process but scrambled omelette ultimately tastes just as good!  Omelettes are a great way of using up leftovers and if you're worried about them being a little bland simply season with salt, pepper or any other herbs you may have lying around or grate in some cheese (a strong cheddar works particularly well!).

Omelette

Well, I hope I've given you a few ideas for some light lunches.  If you want to learn how to make caesar salad then check out my Keeping it Simple blog post.  Next time I'll tell you about the yummy chicken sag aloo (or Indian chicken with potatoes and spinach) which I made the other day.  Happy cooking!