Ingredients

Method

• 500 g linguine
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 bulbs baby fennel, thinly sliced (or 1 onion, chopped)
• 1 T olive oil
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 100 g capers, drained, and brine reserved
• 2 cups fresh cream
• 10 g fresh dill, chopped
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 t lemon zest
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 750 g lightly smoked rainbow trout fillets
• 2 T olive oil
• fresh lemon wedges, for serving

Method

Ingredients

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente.

2. To make the sauce, fry the garlic and fennel in olive oil and butter over medium heat until softened and fragrant.

3. Add half of the capers, then the cream, and heat through. Stir in half of the dill and all of the mustard and lemon zest, season, and allow to reduce for 2–5 minutes. (Optional top tip: you can now add the reserved caper brine.) Turn off the heat while you cook the trout.

4. Add a dash of olive oil to a hot, non-stick pan, and fry the fillets skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. The trick is to leave the fish alone: resist the urge to move it around or turn it until the flesh starts to turn opaque – the fish will naturally release itself from the pan once it’s crispy and ready to flip.

5. Carefully flip and cook for a further 1–2 minutes, depending on your preference. Turn on the heat under the pan with the sauce, and toss the drained pasta through it, making sure everything warms evenly.

6. Remove the fish from its pan and nestle it in the warm pasta pan, then top with the reserved capers and dill, and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

7. Serve in the pan with fresh lemon wedges, and let your guests help themselves!

Find more pasta recipes here. 

Photograph: Sadiqah Assur-Ismail
Production: Hannah Lewry
Food assistant: Claire-Ellen Gooderson