Roast ocean trout with white bean purée and fennel salad

Lately I have been having some stomach pain whenever I eat (I do eat a lot of sugar so this may be the cause). With a blood test scheduled I thought that perhaps I should ease off the sweets today and try to eat healthier. I must admit that I did have a little bit of sesame brittle, but nothing else except yoghurt and a passionfruit, which for me is a unbelievably healthy (and minimal) half day of eating.

By the time dinner came around I was actually craving something light and healthy. I did have a leek and aged goats cheese tart lined up for tonight, but I just wasn't feeling it. So instead I swapped it with baked fish, cooked beans and raw fennel (fennel is my favourite vegetable to eat raw).

So far my tummy is feeling alright, but I think perhaps it is a signal for me to overhaul my diet - more veggies, less sugar (and by less I mean I will cut out all manufactured sweets but there is no way I can stop making desserts myself, perhaps a limit of three different home-made sweets a week would be fair). What is it about a change of season that tends to bring about changes in your life?

Is anyone else feeling a need to change their eating habits?


ease: 5/5.
prep time: 4mins.
cooking time: 18mins.
total: 22mins.

taste: 4/5. The first taste you get is the tangy lemon followed by the herbed fennel and then the creamy, garlicky beans and lastly, the soft ocean trout. Some of the capers gave a nice salty bite, but I found that most of them were too salty and overpowered the other softer tastes. Perhaps a vinegar caper would be nicer, or actual caper berries.
I didn't bother pulsing the beans (I used cannellini), I just squished them a little in the pan and they were lovely (I did have to drain some of the stock out though).
Overall this was a lovely dish with clean simple tastes that all complimented each other nicely - the fennel provides the crunch and crispy wateriness to counteract the other heavier soft textures. I cooked the fillets for 8mins to get them medium as that is what hubby likes (they still flake beautifully with a fork).

would I make it again: Yes.

recipe: Roast ocean trout with white bean purée and fennel salad