Roast trout with clementine, ginger, spring onion and herbs

Name: Roast trout with clementine, ginger, spring onion and herbs
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 6-8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 50ml rapeseed oil; 1 ChalkStream Gleamer trout, 2.2-2.5kg (see ‘before you start’); 8cm piece ginger, finely sliced; 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised with the back of a knife and halved lengthways; 4 spring onions, halved lengthways; 4 garlic cloves, bashed but unpeeled; 30g bunch coriander, a few sprigs reserved to garnish; 5 mint sprigs; 3 clementines, 2 sliced into rounds and 1 halved; 6 lime leaves, finely sliced; 2 tsp toasted sesame oil; 50ml shaoxing wine

Portion size: Serves 6-8
Hands-on time 25 min. Oven time 30-40 min, plus 15 min resting
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Gluten-free

Recipe by: Jude Kerema

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Fancy an alternative to all those heavy Christmas mains? Try this spectacular whole roast trout recipe from chef Jude Kerema, served with a crisp and bright winter salad.

Jude says: “I love fish at Christmas, and this dish provides a lot of flavour for little effort. Serve it with a winter salad of kale, orange and fennel for a bit of crunch. I also love to make a Japanese-style potato salad, which has great textures of green apple, carrot and boiled egg, flavoured with wasabi, pickled ginger and Japanese mayo. All this can be prepared the day before so there’s no stress during the celebrations.”

Born in New Zealand, Jude Kereama has been in the UK for over 27 years and is the owner and executive chef of award-winning restaurants Kota and Kota Kai in Porthleven, Cornwall, where he creates imaginative dishes, influenced by his Maori and Chinese Malay origins. He’s competed in Great British Menu four times and cooked a dish at the 2021 banquet.

Before you start

This fabulous fish, bought online from ChalkStream, provides fantastic value for money. We were genuinely astounded at how big it was when it arrived in the test kitchen – if served with lots of sides it could easily feed 10-12.

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Ingredients

50ml rapeseed oil
1 ChalkStream Gleamer trout, 2.2-2.5kg (see ‘before you start’)
8cm piece ginger, finely sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, bruised with the back of a knife and halved lengthways
4 spring onions, halved lengthways
4 garlic cloves, bashed but unpeeled
30g bunch coriander, a few sprigs reserved to garnish
5 mint sprigs
3 clementines, 2 sliced into rounds and 1 halved
6 lime leaves, finely sliced
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
50ml shaoxing wine

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Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Take the largest roasting tray you have (that’ll fit in your oven) and line it with a few sheets of foil, ensuring there is plenty of overhang so you can wrap the whole fish. Brush half the rapeseed oil all over the foil, then scatter it generously with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
Take the trout out of its packaging and pat it dry very well inside and out with kitchen paper, then sit it on the foil. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, then stuff it with the ginger, lemongrass, spring onions, garlic, coriander, mint, half the clementine rounds and half the lime leaves. Drizzle in the toasted sesame oil.
Put the clementine halves, cut-side down, in a dry frying pan over a high heat and cook for a few minutes until deeply caramelised. Add the halves to the tray and pour in the shaoxing wine. Brush the top of the trout with the remaining rapeseed oil, then scatter over the remaining lime leaves and season with salt and pepper.
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Use the overhanging foil to tightly wrap the fish, crimping the edges well to ensure no steam can escape. Put the trout in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes (depending on size), then leave to rest for 15 minutes without opening the foil. This will mean the trout is just cooked, retaining its juicy texture and bright orange colour.
While the trout cooks, put the remaining clementine rounds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat and cook until caramelised, flipping halfway.
Carefully transfer the cooked trout to a serving platter or tray, ensuring you pour over any cooking juices, then squeeze over the juice from the caramelised clementine halves. Decorate the fish with the caramelised clementine rounds and coriander sprigs.