Smoked trout with a broad bean, horseradish and watercress salad

I recently got sent some wild Lough Neagh smoked trout from my friend Steve Downey who set up the Somerset Distillery during lockdown. You can buy hot-smoked trout in fillets or on the bone and I think I prefer the latter as it tends to be less dry. Horseradish and smoked fish have always been a perfect marriage.

If you can’t get your hands on fresh horseradish then whisk a few teaspoons of strong horseradish sauce into the dressing to taste. Now that all the beans are coming into season, I’ve matched them with the trout. I’ve used broad beans but any selection would work including pea and broad bean tendrils if you grow them yourself.

The tendrils tend to get overlooked though they’re great in salads and different from the generic leaves you tend to find in shops. By the way, frozen broad beans – like peas – aren’t bad at all.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 minutes

Serves

4 as a starter

Ingredients

• 300g broad beans, removed from their pods

• 300-350g hot smoked trout fillets or one whole smoked trout (around 450g)

• a large handful of watercress leaves

• 30-40g piece of fresh horseradish, peeled

• 4 tbsp good quality mayonnaise

• lemon wedges, to serve

For the dressing

• 1? tsp cider vinegar

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

Method

1. First, make the dressing, Whisk together the cider vinegar and rapeseed oil and season to taste.

2. Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until tender depending on their size. Drain and refresh under the cold tap. If they are tiny, you can leave the skins on; otherwise, remove the outer skins from the larger beans.

3. If using whole smoked trout, remove the head and tail and cut into 4 chunks and place each one on a plate. If using fillets, divide them evenly between the 4 plates. Toss the watercress together with the broad beans and a little of the dressing and arrange on serving plates. Spoon over a little more dressing then grate over some of the fresh horseradish to taste. Add a dollop of mayonnaise and a lemon wedge and serve.

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