By Alex Gillett
The Halcyon Press
RRP: $17.95
 |
I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of trout to eat. To me, the word 'delicate', often used to describe the flavour of trout (and salmon), is actually a euphemism for 'bland'. This slim ring-bound volume of recipes, collected during a lifetime of fishing for trout (and cooking them), may well cause me to change my opinion.
Alex Gillett's Trout Cookbook is an ensemble of thirty-plus recipes for preparing trout for the table. They range from the 'traditional' (trout with almonds) to the exotic (Indian grilled trout) with just about everything between. What they have in common is simplicity of preparation (admirable) and undoubted palatability - they look yummy!
|
Alex has chosen recipes that he particularly enjoys, drawn from a number of sources. Most of them use flavours that will complement that of the trout without overwhelming it and many of them feature classic ingredients like wine, capers, butter, herbs and cheese. There are also a couple of 'bankside' recipes, including Dominion trout (trout in newspaper cooked in the embers of an open fire) and trout in foil.
In the first couple of chapters, Alex lays the foundation, explaining how best to keep and prepare trout for the kitchen and there is an excellent section on smoking trout (equally applicable to other fish).
Facing each recipe is a page of entertaining 'literary trivia' - about trout fishing, of course - and most pages feature delightful illustrations by Tony Symonds.
On the strength of this fine little book, I'll actually keep the next good trout I catch for the table. There are several recipes I would like to try. As a bonus, I'm certain many of them will work perfectly on other fish species too.
Reviewed by John Eichelsheim 
