St. Patrick’s Day: Cabbage & Bacon Stuffed Trout, for #FishFridayFoodies

I joined a challenge to come up with a seafood-based recipe for St. Patrick’s day.  I’d hoped to post this yesterday, but things came up, and besides my camera and my computer are reluctant these days to converse with one another.  I finally got the two to communicate properly.  Oh, well.

Anyhow, check out #FishFridayFoodies,  and a big thanks to Heather  (her blog appears to be here) for assisting on bringing this particular challenge together.

Cabbage and Bacon Stuffed Trout. Slice this in half to provide two servings, and clip off the dorsal fins.  

I looked on line for types of seafood that are native to Ireland, and found several, a few of which are not to be found on my side of the Puddle.  I settled on working with trout – although, mind you, in Ireland it is the Brown Trout, whereas here in North America one is going to be hard-pressed to come up with anything other than Rainbow Trout.

The fish from my local fishmonger

Two slices of bacon (halved for cooking), nearly ready.

I used Savoy rather than regular green cabbage, as the regular cabbages were elephantine in size this week! I’d probably never finish one! Use either style.

So…. after looking at a few recipes for almond-crusted trout (and I don’t eat tree nuts), and the like, I decided to invent my own dish.   Well, within the parameters of using appropriate ingredients, since the only Irish apparently in my pedigree or DNA was one individual five or seven generations back (according to my uncle, who’s been following the family genealogy).   Besides, I’m not really clear that almonds are all that Irish to begin with.

Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time:  8-10 minutes for the cabbage mixture; plus 25 minutes to bake the trout.
Rest Time:  3-5 minutes.
Serves:  2 per trout.

Cabbage and Bacon Stuffed Trout

• 1 trout, preferably deboned.  (Mine had the ribs removed, but fins and head and backbone were still present.  Feel free to remove the head and fins at the get-go, if you wish.)
• Two slices of bacon (“streaky bacon” if you are in the British Isles, or, apparently, Canada)
• About a half cup or so of shredded cabbage, compacted.  (I’d have given you a more useful weight, but my weigh scales have moved up to my future home, and I’m still down here…)
• 2 inches of a thick leek, the white end, sliced into about 1/8th or 1/4 inch discs.
• About 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper.  (Black is fine.)
• A pinch of salt as desired.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

In a skillet, cook up the bacon, cooking it until crispy but not burnt, turning as needed.  Remove bacon and pat dry on a paper towel.  Crumble it and reserve.

Remove any excess grease from the skillet, but reserve enough to cook the cabbage and leeks.  Add the cabbage and leeks and ground pepper to the skillet and saute until portions start going translucent.  Portions may brown slightly, but stop before this burns.

Meanwhile, lightly grease your baking pan, and add the whole de-ribbed fish – as noted, the head may be removed, and you may also remove fins prior to cooking, if the fishmonger hasn’t already done so.

Add the cabbage mixture to one side of the fish.  You may well have extra cabbage mixture – reserve.  Add most of the bacon crumbles on top of the cabbage.

Fold the other side of the fish over the top of the cabbage side.  You may need to secure with a wetted toothpick or two – I didn’t need to.

Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, scatter some of the rest of the cabbage and bacon mixture atop,  and serve.  You may cut off the backbone with scissors if you wish, or simply watch for the backbone while eating.  Cut the trout into two portions.

A squeeze of lemon may  be added to the trout when served.  Enjoy, and the Luck of the Irish Be With You!

Prep the ingredients and stuff the fish.

Fold over and toss in oven.

Remove from oven, place on serving platter, top with extra stuffing and lemon juice. You may then remove head prior to serving, as in the top photo. (Or you may have removed it prior to cooking, your call.)  

.As a suggestion, you may wish to pair this with scalloped potatoes.  (My rendition also contains cabbage.)

Created for the #FishFridayFoodies link party!

Shared at the Fiesta Friday link party!