This delicious seafood salad, a take on Middle Eastern tabbouli, doesn’t require any cooking, the cracked wheat soaks while you flake the already cooked trout and chop the remaining ingredients. It’s perfect as a BBQ accompaniment or buffet dish and keeps well for a few days in the fridge.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup burghul (cracked wheat)
2 hot-smoked Trout
½ bunch watercress, picked and lightly chopped
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
½ red onion, finely diced
8 green onions, finely chopped
2-3 pieces preserved lemon, rind only, rinsed and finely diced
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt flakes, to taste
METHOD:
Pour 2 cups boiling water over the burghul, cover and leave for 30 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, peel the skin back from one side of the Trout and carefully lift pieces of the meat away from the bone, break into small chunks and set aside. Turn over and repeat with remaining side then remaining trout (see notes).
Combine watercress, parsley, dill, red and green onions and preserved lemon in a bowl. Tip burghul into a fine sieve and press well to remove any excess moisture; add burghul to the bowl. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil and salt together, pour over salad and toss thoroughly. Add Trout and toss gently to combine.
NOTES:
Scrape the dark meat away from the centre of the Trout before picking the meat if you like, it’s fine to eat but some people prefer the look of just the pinky-orange flesh.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Cooked Crab meat, pan-fried Salmon or Tuna.