Chef's Recipes

Ocean trout with calamari, cherry tomato and zucchini flower salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for ocean trout with calamari, cherry tomato and zucchini flower salad by Manta restaurant in Sydney.

By Daniel Hughes
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 15 mins cooking plus standing
  • Serves 4
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Ocean trout with calamari, cherry tomato and zucchini flower salad
“Please ask chef Daniel Hughes at Sydney’s Manta for the recipe for his excellent ocean trout and calamari salad.”
Kerry Hessing, Bondi Junction, NSW
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.

Ingredients

  • 12 zucchini flowers, stamens removed
  • 4 ocean trout fillets (about 200gm each), pin-boned, skin on
  • 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 400 gm cleaned calamari tubes (about 1kg uncleaned), thinly sliced
  • 600 gm heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely torn
  • To serve: lemon wedges
Caper dressing
  • 90 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 30 ml lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp baby capers in brine, rinsed
  • 2 golden shallots, finely chopped

Method

Main
  • 1
    Blanch zucchini flowers until bright green (1-2 minutes). Drain and refresh, drain on absorbent paper, halve lengthways and set aside.
  • 2
    For caper dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl to combine, season to taste, set aside.
  • 3
    Place trout on a tray skin-side up and scatter with salt flakes. Set aside for salt to absorb moisture (3-4 minutes). Brush off excess salt and pat dry with absorbent paper.
  • 4
    Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook fish skin-side down, pressing gently with a spatula to stop fish from curling, until crisp (3-4 minutes). Turn and cook until cooked to your liking
    (2 minutes for medium-rare). Transfer to a tray and keep warm.
  • 5
    Wipe pan with absorbent paper, then heat remaining oil over high heat. Add calamari, season to taste and stir occasionally until just cooked through and tender (1-2 minutes). Transfer to a bowl with sliced zucchini flowers, tomato and parsley, drizzle over caper dressing (reserve a little to serve) and toss to combine. Divide among serving plates, top with trout, spoon over remaining dressing and serve hot with lemon wedges.

Notes

This recipe is from the September 2011 issue of .

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