Orange salad makes a delicious accompaniment to this Middle Eastern dish. To segment oranges (or any citrus fruit), remove the skin and pith with a small sharp knife then, holding the fruit in the palm of your hand over a bowl, cut along the sides of the white fibres and drop the clean segment of fruit into the bowl. When you’ve removed all of the segments, squeeze the remaining fruit over the bowl to extract the juice. Serve this dish with couscous for a heartier meal.
INGREDIENTS:
4 Rainbow Trout, scaled, gilled and gutted
60g slivered almonds, toasted (see notes)
50g butter
1 cup cooked rice
2 spring onions, chopped
6 pitted dates, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground ginger
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, for rubbing
Orange & Almond Salad
2 oranges, segmented
60g slivered almonds, toasted (see notes)
½ cup parsley leaves
8 large green olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Wipe the belly cavity of the fish well with a clean damp cloth to remove any trace of blood.
Combine almonds, butter, rice, onion, dates, cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of pepper. Place inside belly cavity of the fish. Rub the fish with oil and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in oven for about 20 minutes, until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Meanwhile, make Orange & Almond Salad: place orange segments, almonds, parsley and olives in a bowl. Whisk oil with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the juice from the oranges and toss through the other ingredients.
Serve fish with Orange & Almond Salad.
NOTES:
Toast almonds in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes, tossing gently to prevent them burning, or under a griller (but watch them closely).
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Baby Barramundi, Whiting.