Swimming upstream

So, I’m back – after a really long break from the blog. I’d like to blame it all on the stress of running a restaurant, dealing with unreliable vendors and duplicitous consultants et al – but the truth of the matter is, that I’ve just been plain lazy.


The onset of old age, a week or two of celebrating my birthday, accumulation of fat over the decades and metabolism which is even lazier than I am, has pitched me headfirst into getting myself into shape. Come death or disaster.

As a result, I’ve been trying to cook various things – which while supposedly healthy, are quite scrumptious. The other day, when I’d stopped by Modern Bazaar in Vasant Vihar to pick up some beef for the dogs --- and for myself – I spotted some fresh whole trout . So how could the Bengali in me resist picking it up. Here’s what I made. Hope you like it as much as I did.

HERBED BAKED RAINBOW TROUT

Pre-heat your over to 200 degrees C.

Take the trout, and rub it all over with a spoon of olive oil first, then squeeze half a lime on either side of the fish. Then rub the fish with 1 tsp of freshly ground ginger-garlic paste, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a dash of paprika. Make sure to spread the marinade in the centre of the fish as well – which had been cleaned and de-boned for me.

Take a glass/ ceramic baking dish large enough to hold the fish and drizzle some olive oil in it. Then coat the dish with chopped onions, sliced mushrooms and sprinkle some parsley on top.

Place the marinated fish on top of this base. Sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs over the fish – enough to coat it. Top with some chopped parsley. Most importantly, in the cavity of the fish, place some of the sliced mushrooms and parsley you scattered over the base of the baking dish. For an added tang, I also added some lemon slices int eh cavity. The juices tend to seep through the fish while it’s baking.

Place the baking dish in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Test that the fish is done. Then dig in. I had some mustard mayonnaise which I also dolloped on the fish.