Portuguese-style trout with vinegared rice and beans

Ingredients

For the fishy bit
4 small trout, preferably brown or brook
250ml/8¾fl oz dry white wine
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper
125g/4½oz flour
16 thin slices of presunto, prosciutto, serrano or Parma ham
125ml/4½fl oz olive oil
100g/3½oz unsalted butter
30ml/1¼fl oz lemon juice
90ml/3¼fl oz chopped flatleaf parsley
For the rice and beany bit
45ml/1½fl oz olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
400g/14¼oz rice
1 can red kidney beans
1 can white kidney (cannellini) beans
1 litre water
salt, to taste
15ml/½fl oz white wine vinegar
large pinch of white pepper

Method

1. Gut the fish: take off the head, tail and trim off the fins. Clean the inside. Marinate for half an hour in the wine, garlic and bay leaves. Remove from the marinade, and reserve half a cup (about 250ml/8¾fl oz) of the marinade.
2. Dry the fish on kitchen paper, sprinkle with black pepper, then dredge in the flour.
3. Now carefully wrap the fish in the thinly sliced ham, overlapping edges as you go. Think Egyptian mummies!
4. Heat the oil and add 60g (2¼oz) of the butter in a frying pan until it ripples. Reduce the heat to moderate, then add the fish and cook for about four minutes on each side until the ham is a golden brown. The ham will turn into a kind of crispy wrapping.
5. Transfer to a warm plate. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the residue in the pan. Add the remaining butter, reserved marinade, lemon juice and parsley.
6. Boil hard for a couple of minutes until reduced by half.
7. Pour over the fish and serve with the vinegared rice and beans.
8. For the vinegared rice and beans, sweat the onion and bay leaf in the olive oil in a large pan until transparent (about five minutes).
9. Add the rice and sauté for one minute until the rice is nicely coated.
10. Add the red and white beans, cover with water and simmer until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. The timing depends on the type of rice you are using. If in doubt, look on the back of the packet.
11. Add the salt, vinegar and white pepper to the rice and beans at the end and serve. This has the same vibe as good sushi rice.