Tea “Smoked” Trout with Indian Salsa

Name: Tea “Smoked” Trout with Indian Salsa
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1½ quarts/1.5 liters water; 2 pounds/1 kilogram (6 filets) of trout, skin removed; 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters fruity extra virgin olive oil; 4 tablespoons/56 grams Lapsang Souchong tea leaves; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 medium onion, thinly sliced; ½ bunch celery, well washed, thinly sliced in diagonal cuts; ½ teaspoon/3 grams salt; 1 teaspoon/2 grams cumin seeds; 1 cup/250 milliliters plain yogurt, well drained (whole milk yogurt is best, but you may substitute either the lowfat or nonfat version if you wish); 1 large red, ripe tomato (peeled and seeded), sliced into long strips (about 1 cup); 1 English cucumber or regular cucumber, peeled with seeds removed, thinly sliced; 1 tablespoon/13 grams brown sugar; Salt to taste; 2 cloves garlic, peeled then smashed; 1 teaspoon/4 grams granulated sugar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Cooking with Tea

By Robert Wemischner and Diana Rosen

Published 2000

About

With its delicate, dense flesh, trout is a perfect fish for this poached-in-smoky-tea treatment. A raft of slow-cooked, caramelized onions blankets each portion and an Indian-style raita of cucumbers and tomatoes in yogurt adds a bit of summer on the plate.

Ingredients

Cucumber-Tomato Raita

1 cup/250 milliliters plain yogurt, well drained (whole milk yogurt is best, but you may substitute either the lowfat or nonfat version if you wish)

Method

Drain the yogurt in cheesecloth or a fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl to eliminate excess moisture. Roast the cumin seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they release their aroma. Watch closely, as these burn easily. Grind seeds in an electric spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

Combine the cucumber and tomato with salt to taste. Add th