TROUT FILLETS WITH ROAST RED PEPPER PESTO AND GRILLED BROCCOLI

A recipe from Genevieve Taylor’s book ‘Scorched – the ultimate guide to barbecuing fish’ – purchase her brilliant recipe book Scorched from https://www.genevievetaylor.co.uk/store

Naturally oily, trout fillets are brilliant for grilling as they are not as prone to sticking compared to less rich-fleshed fish. I use small trout fillets for this, allowing a couple per person, but you could use one big fillet, about 500g (1lb 2oz), to share if you like.

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Serves 2

2 trout, filleted, about 300g (10 1/2oz) each

olive oil, to drizzle

200g (7oz) purple sprouting

or tenderstem broccoli

For the pesto:

1 red (bell) pepper

25g (3/4oz/3 tbsp) blanched

almonds

1–2 garlic cloves, whole, unpeeled

a small bunch of basil, about

15g (1/2oz)

a loose handful of flat-leaf

parsley, about 5g (1/8oz)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

flaked sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

Lay the trout fillets skin-side up on a rack hung over a tray and slide into the fridge uncovered for a few hours to dry out the skin and help prevent sticking.

When you are ready to cook, fire up the barbecue ready for hot direct grilling and set a grill tray over the fire to heat up. As it heats up, rest the pepper over the building fire to roast – only do this if you have good pure charcoal. If your fuel has chemicals in it, do the smell test. You need to wait until it is properly hot before cooking, and hopefully try and get better fuel for next time! Either way, you want to roast the pepper for a good 20 minutes or so until lightly charred all over. It’s better to roast slowly so it softens properly without getting completely black, so slide it further from the heat if you need to. At the same time, set a small pan either over the fire or on the hob and toast the almonds for a few minutes until they are a couple of shades darker and smelling nutty.

Remove the pepper and allow to cool for a few minutes before peeling and discarding the skin, seeds and membranes. Drop the flesh into a food processor along with the toasted almonds, garlic, basil, parsley and olive oil and blitz to a paste. Season well with salt and pepper. You can also make this in a pestle and mortar for a chunkier finish. Scoop a tablespoon into a small bowl to take to the barbecue and the rest into a serving bowl and set aside.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the broccoli and the skin side of the trout fillets, and season both generously with salt and pepper. Spread the broccoli out over the grill tray and cook over a high heat until lightly charred. Pile away from the heat so it keeps warm.

Rest the trout, skin-side down, on the grill tray and lay an oiled fish weight or pan on top to stop it curling up. Cook for a few minutes then remove the weight and use a silicone brush to coat the flesh side with the reserved pesto. Cook for another couple of minutes until the skin is crispy and eases away from the grill tray when teased gently with a fish slice. The flesh should be cooked by the time the skin is crisp as the fillets are pretty thin.

To serve, divide the broccoli between warmed plates and top with the fillets. Add a generous dollop of pesto and tuck in.