Grilled Lough Neagh Trout (Dollaghan) With Almond And Bacon Crumb, Pickled Cucumber Salad
4 x 175g Lough Neagh trout fillets
Salt to season
2 tablespoons oil
25g butter
Juice 1 lemon
50g blanched almonds
4 rashers dry cure smoked bacon or lomo
Handful finely chopped parsley
Season the trout with salt. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large pan until smoking hot and add the trout. Cook for a minute then lower the heat and dot the butter around the pan. Flip over the fish and cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. Add the lemon juice and allow the fish to rest.
Cut the bacon or lomo up as finely as you can. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and cook the bacon until crisp. Chop the almonds finely and add to the pan and cook for a minute. Toss in the parsley and cook for a 30 seconds.
Place fish on a platter, spoon over the lemony pan juices and sprinkle over the crumb.
Pickled cucumber salad
1 cucumber
1 small onion
75ml cider vinegar
50ml water
20g castor sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 little gem lettuce
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Finely slice the cucumber. Peel and cut the onion in half through the root and slice as thinly as you can. Mix together. Place vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, salt and mustard seeds in a pan and cook until sugar has dissolved. Cool and mix into the cucumber and onion. Allow to infuse for at least a couple of hours before using.
Break up the little gem and place on a platter or bowl. Spoon over the cucumber pickle.
