PAPER-BAKED TROUT WITH HERBS

This is a great way to cook trout; wrapping the fish in newspaper stops it drying out, and when you open the parcel, the skin will come away neatly along with the paper. You can adapt this recipe throughout the year, using whichever herbs happen to be at their peak.

SERVES 4

4 x 350g rainbow trout (or brown trout if you are lucky enough to get hold of them), gutted and cleaned but with tail and head intact

Herbs (lemon thyme, parsley, dill and fennel tops all work well) Lemon slices

Salt and pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5.

2 Wash the trout thoroughly and dry the inside of each fish with paper towels but leave the outside moist. Lightly season with salt and pepper inside the gut cavity, then fill the cavity of each fish with a handful of fresh herbs and a few halved lemon slices.

3 For each trout, you will need one doublepage sheet of a tabloid newspaper. Lay the sheet in portrait position and place the fish near the bottom of the page, with the open side towards you. Take the bottom of the sheet and wrap it up over the open side and fold in the sides so that they align with the length of the fish. Roll the fish up carefully in the paper. If the paper tears too much and you can see the fish through the wrap, start again. You may want to put a small arrow on the head end of each package to remind you on which side of the package the gut cavity is.

4 Place the wrapped fish side by side on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 mins (times will vary slightly depending on the size of your fish).

5 Once baked, put each wrapped fish on a plate. With a pair of scissors, cut the newspaper package open along the gut cavity side of the fish and then make cuts up towards the gills and across the bottom of tail. Take hold of the cut paper and the skin of the fish and gently peel back so that the flesh is exposed, and the head and the tail remain wrapped.

6 If the skin does not peel away from the fish easily, return the wrapped fish to the oven for 5 mins more, then try again.