Pan Fried WholeTrout

Ingredients
2 whole Claremont trout, cleaned with or without tails and heads
¼ cup flour
¼ cup polenta or mealie meal
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2/3 tsp salt
Generous pinch of ground black pepper1 tbsp oil (preferably olive oil)1 lemon - cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions
Remove gills from fish and discard.
Rinse fish under cold water.
In a large frying pan heat oil over medium heat.
In a shallow dish, combine the flour, mealie meal, salt and pepper.
Raise heat to high.
Dredge fish in flour mixture and fry in hot oil for about 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until meat flakes with a fork.
Serve garnished with lemon wedges, creamy mashed potato and spinach

Pan Fried Trout with Nutty Purée
Purée
7g unsalted Ladismith Butter
1 small onion, chopped
pinch of salt
600ml milk
200g roasted peanuts
(no skins) or lightly toasted almonds (flaked or whole)
dash of Cream
dash of peanut or almond oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the trout
15g unsalted Ladismith Butter
½ tbsp olive oil
4 whole Claremont Trout, scaled, gutted and heads removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
small bunch parsley, chopped

Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 190C
For the nutty purée, in a medium-sized pan melt the butter and sweat the chopped onion until soft and transparent.
Season with salt, to taste.
Add the milk and nuts or almonds and bring to the boil.
Cook for 30 minutes.
Place the nuts or almonds and onion into a blender with a few tablespoons of the milk they have been cooked in.
Blend to make a fine purée.
Adjust the consistency by adding more cooking liquid if required and a dash of cream and oil to taste.
Return the purée to a smaller pan, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and keep hot.
For the trout, melt the butter with the olive oil in a non-stick, ovenproof pan. Heat until the butter is foaming.
Season the trout with salt and freshly ground black pepper before placing them into the pan.
Cook for approximately three minutes on the first side before carefully turning the trout over and transferring the pan to the oven for ten minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the trout and leave to rest for a few minutes.
To serve, spoon some of the hot nutty purée onto each serving plate before placing the fish onto the plate. Add the parsley to the warm cooking oil in the pan, stir, then spoon over and around the fish.

Whole Trout Stuffed with Onions and Honey

This lovely trout dish is ideal for lazy summer evenings as it can be finished off on the braai or under the grill, the choice is yours. Whatever you decide, this simple recipe is sure to become a favourite!

Ingredients
2 Whole Claremont Trout
3 large white onions, finely sliced
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp clear honey
a little white wine or sherry vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method
Preheat the grill to a medium heat or get the braai going and let it burn down and begin to cool to a nice medium cooking heat.
In a frying pan, fry the onions and garlic gently in a little oil until they are very soft - this will take 15-20 minutes
Add the honey, vinegar and herbs and continue to cook until the onions are well browned. Season and set aside to cool.
Stuff the trout with the cooled onion mix. Carefully place on a sheet of heavy duty tin foil, season and pour over a little oil.
Grill or Braai for about 15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.
Serve with a green salad and boiled new potatoes tossed in Ladismith butter and chopped fresh parsley.

Sausage Stuffed Grilled Trout
2 Whole Claremont Trout Deboned
2 Pork Sausages with the skins removed
2 small onions
2 ribs of celery (optional)
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 ½ cups of fresh breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of softened butter

Deboning instructions
Debone the trout by breaking the spine at both the head and tail (without breaking the skin). From inside the fish, starting at the head, run a sharp knife under the rib cage of the fish from the belly side through to the spine and along the length of the spine, repeat on the other side of the rib cage then holding the head end and using a knife if needed, pull out the spine with attached bones. Cut out the remaining row of bones in the centre without breaking through the skin, feel for and remove any bones that have been missed.

Method
Fry the sausage meat until browned (5 mins)
Remove and place in a bowl.
Fry the onions, celery and garlic until softened
(5 mins), put into the bowl with the sausage meat
Stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley
Mix in the egg yolk.
Spoon the stuffing mixture into the trout and loosely tie the trout with string at intervals to keep
the stuffing in.
Rub the outside of the trout with butter.
Place under a medium to high grill, for about
15 –20 minutes (until the fish flakes), turning it
over once.
Remove the strings and serve with a fresh
green salad.