Trout Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

Serves 4

Prep time 30 mins

Cook time 20 mins

• 450 ml milk
• 400g fillet British trout with skin
• Dash fish sauce
• 1 clove garlic, bashed
• 1 bay leaf
• 30g butter
• 30g flour
• 300g grated mature cheddar
• 2 teaspoons English mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 200g macaroni
• Herby crumbs:
• 2 large slices of stale bread
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• A good sprig of parsley, a little fresh or dried thyme
• 100g grated cheese

Method

• Remove the skin from the trout by running a knife between the flesh and the skin, and place the skin along with the milk, bashed garlic clove and bay leaf in a saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add a dash of fish sauce and turn off the heat.
• Leave the milk to infuse for a few minutes then pass it through a sieve, discard the skin and other bits and bobs retaining only the infused milk.
• In a small pan melt the butter and add the flour, stir into a paste and add this to the infused milk in a fresh saucepan – use a whisk to combine the paste into the liquid and bring it back to a simmer.
• The sauce should thicken, add the mustard and season, add the 300g grated cheese and stir that in off the heat until the cheese melts into the sauce and it all comes together nicely.

Pre heat the oven to 220c

• Boil the macaroni in salted water for 10 minutes, drain most of the water off but don’t drain thoroughly – keep it a little moist to help the dish stay saucy when baked.
• Dice the trout, which is now skinless, in to chunky pieces.
• Combine the trout, cooked pasta and sauce all together and pour into a suitable oven proof dish – You want to have a good depth to the pasta of say around 3 inches, so make sure the dish is not too big, something 8 x 5 ish will be ideal as long as it is deep enough.
• To make the herby crumbs: place the bread, garlic and herbs in a food processor and blitz to a chunky breadcrumb consistency, mix this with the cheese and sprinkle it over the pasta – place the whole show in the oven and bake for 20 mins – or until golden crisp on the top, and piping hot and bubbling inside.
• Serve with a crisp salad or whatever you fancy to go with it – or just eat it on its own! I like a bit of chilli sauce on the side for some added spice.