Buttery Hot Smoked Trout, Kale and Herb Bruschetta

Ingredients

Serves 2

Prep time 5 mins

Cooking time 10 mins

• 150g pack hot smoked British trout
• 50g kale
• 2 large slices of rustic bread
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• 100ml white wine
• Sprig thyme
• 50ml double cream
• 50g butter
• Sprig parsley
• Sprig tarragon
• A few chives
• A glug of reasonable olive oil, but not the best stuff
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Allow the hot smoked trout to come to room temperature.
• Griddle the bread slices to char them slightly, rub them with garlic, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt, set them aside to keep warm.
• Put the wine and thyme in a small pan and reduce by half over a moderate heat. Add the cream and simmer for a minute or two. Add the butter to this and stir it to emulsify with the wine base as the butter melts over a low heat.
• Finely chop the parsley and tarragon.
• Season the sauce and add most of the herbs, leaving a little for garnish.
• Remove the thyme sprig from the sauce.
• Wash the kale and wilt it in a pan with a little olive oil, salt and a dash of water, pop the lid on the pan. Let it wilt down over a moderate heat until tender but still vibrant and bright green, drain off any excess moisture.
• Spoon over a spoonful of the sauce to lightly dress the kale.
• Break up the hot smoked trout, leaving it quite chunky (set any skin aside to flavour a sauce or add to a soup at a later date – you can freeze it until needed to save on any waste).
• Spoon the kale onto the bruschetta, sprinkle over the hot smoked trout and dress with lashings of the butter sauce, fling over the remaining herbs and serve.