Tea-smoked trout with wilted spinach, wasabi crème fraîche and melba toast

Preparation method

1. Preheat the grill to a medium heat.

2. For the tea-smoked trout, season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle over the caster sugar. Drizzle both sides of the fish with half of the olive oil. Cut the trout into three equal pieces.

3. Line a wok with aluminium foil. Place the loose tea in the bottom of the wok and suspend a small cooling rack over it, making sure the rack does not touch the tea. Place the fish pieces onto the rack, cover the wok with more aluminium foil, and smoke over a low heat for 5-7 minutes. (CAUTION: tea-smoking generates a lot of smoke. Cook in a well-ventilated area, and open the wok outside if possible.)

4. Remove the smoked trout from the wok, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat, and fry the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden-brown and crisp on both sides.

5. For the wilted spinach, heat the oil in a separate, non-reactive frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Sprinkle over the lemon juice.

6. For the wasabi crème fraîche, mix all the ingredients in a bowl until combined.

7. For the melba toast, grill the bread on both sides until golden brown, then cut the toast in half horizontally and grill the soft sides for a further 30-45 seconds until crisp. Cut the melba toast slices into four triangles.

8. To serve, pile three mounds of wilted spinach onto a serving plate and arrange one piece of fish on top of each. Stand three pieces of melba toast between each mound of spinach. Spoon the wasabi crème fraîche alongside the spinach.

Less than 30 mins preparation time

10 to 30 mins cooking time

Serves 1