Smoked trout and potato salad with horseradish

“

The bloke behind the counter at the fishmonger on Donnison Street in East Gosford had three sides of smoked trout left by eleven on a Saturday, which tells you something about how popular it’s become around here. He wrapped mine in paper, said something about horseradish being the only thing that properly cuts through the smoke, and that was that. I went home and made this.

This isn’t a complicated dish and it doesn’t need to be. Good smoked trout, decent potatoes, a horseradish dressing with a bit of backbone to it. The whole thing takes maybe thirty-five minutes if you’re not rushing, and you shouldn’t rush it anyway, because the potatoes need to cool down properly before they meet the dressing or you’ll end up with a sad, split mess instead of something that holds its shape.

Why smoked trout earns its place on the table

Smoked trout gets overlooked next to salmon, which I reckon is a mistake. It’s lighter, less oily, and the smoke flavour is gentler, so it doesn’t bully everything else on the plate. Ocean trout with ginger and coriander is a good example of how well trout handles bold company without disappearing. For this salad you want a side of hot-smoked trout, the kind that flakes apart in soft pieces rather than the thin cold-smoked slices you’d put on a bagel. Ask for it specifically. Most good fishmongers along the Central Coast and into the Hunter carry both, and they’re not the same product at all.

The potato bit nobody should skip

Waxy potatoes, not floury ones. Nicola or kipfler if you can get them, chat if you can’t. The reason is simple: waxy potatoes hold their structure when you dress them warm, and floury spuds just collapse into the dressing and turn the whole bowl starchy and dull. Boil them whole with the skins on, in well-salted water, and don’t drain them until a knife goes through with almost no resistance. Then slice while they’re still warm, because warm potato drinks up a dressing in a way cold potato simply refuses to.

Building a horseradish dressing that actually has some spine

Jarred horseradish from the supermarket is fine, I’m not precious about it, but check the ingredient list and buy one where horseradish is the first thing listed, not vinegar and fillers. Fresh horseradish root is better again if you can find it, usually at a decent greengrocer, and grating it yourself will clear your sinuses in a way that’s genuinely good for you on a cold morning. The dressing here is horseradish loosened with sour cream and a splash of apple cider vinegar, which gives it enough acidity to stand up to the richness of the smoked fish without turning sharp or thin.

Ingredients

• 500g waxy potatoes (kipfler or nicola), skin on
• 300g hot-smoked trout, skin and any pin bones removed, flaked into chunks
• 2 tbsp horseradish cream (or 1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish)
• 100g sour cream
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp baby capers, drained
• Small handful of dill, roughly chopped
• 1 small cos lettuce or handful of watercress, to serve
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot of cold, well-salted water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook until a knife slides through with no resistance, roughly 15-18 minutes depending on size.
2. Drain the potatoes and let them sit for five minutes until just cool enough to handle, then slice into thick rounds while still warm. Don’t let them go fully cold before this step or the dressing won’t take properly.
3. While the potatoes cook, whisk the horseradish cream, sour cream, vinegar, mustard and olive oil in a small bowl until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, then taste it properly, because jarred horseradish varies wildly in strength and you may want more.
4. Put the warm sliced potatoes in a large bowl and pour over about three-quarters of the dressing. Toss gently with your hands or a wide spatula so the slices don’t break up too much.
5. Add the spring onion and capers, fold through gently, then let the salad sit for ten minutes so the flavours settle in.
6. Lay the cos leaves or watercress on a platter, spoon the potato salad over the top, then scatter the flaked smoked trout across it rather than stirring it through, so you get proper pieces of fish in every mouthful rather than fish mush.
7. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the trout, scatter the dill on top, and finish with cracked pepper and lemon wedges on the side.

Getting the balance right at the table

The temptation with horseradish is to go hard and make everyone’s eyes water, which I think misses the point entirely. You want enough heat that it announces itself after the smoke and the richness of the fish, not so much that it’s the only thing you taste. Start with less than you think you need. You can always stir more dressing through at the table, but you can’t take it back out once it’s in.

A serving idea for a longer lunch

On a weekend I’ll put this out as part of a bigger spread, alongside something like shaved fennel and orange salad with toasted almonds and a loaf of good sourdough, with butter left out long enough to actually spread. It works just as well on its own for a weeknight dinner that doesn’t involve turning the oven on, which matters a fair bit through a Hunter summer when the kitchen’s already warm enough without adding to it. A glass of something crisp and cold doesn’t hurt either.

A variation worth trying

Swap the sour cream for Greek yoghurt if you want something lighter, and it still works, though the dressing will be slightly thinner so go easy on the vinegar. I’ve also done this with soft-boiled eggs added through the salad, which turns it into something closer to a proper meal for people who reckon fish and potato on its own isn’t enough. Don’t bother trying to make this ahead and store it fully assembled, because the lettuce goes limp and the potato keeps absorbing dressing until it’s gone sloppy. Keep the components separate and bring it together just before serving.

Why this one earns a regular spot

Seafood gets a reputation for being fiddly or expensive, and sometimes it is, but a dish like this proves it doesn’t have to be either. Smoked trout is reasonably priced compared to fresh fish, it keeps for a few days in the fridge, and there’s no cooking of the fish itself required, which takes a fair bit of the stress out of a Sunday where you’ve already got half a dozen other things going. The Heart Foundation and Nutrition Australia both point to oily fish as a regular part of a balanced diet, and trout fits that brief without the heavier price tag of salmon. If you want more background on why fish earns a regular spot on the plate, eatforhealth.gov.au has the detail on recommended intake, and Nutrition Australia covers the broader case for including fish in a varied diet.

If you’re building out a week of simpler dinners around good fish, it’s worth looking at steamed snapper with lemongrass, done properly or herb-crusted snapper with crushed peas, done properly, both of which follow the same idea: decent fish, minimal fuss, and a dressing or sauce that does the heavy lifting rather than the cooking method itself.

I’ll be honest, I used to think horseradish was one of those ingredients chefs reached for to look clever rather than because it actually improved anything. I’ve come around on that one. Done properly, with a fish this good, it’s not decoration. It’s doing real work.

– Dave Forsythe, Golden Door Living kitchen

”