• 1.25 kg (3 lb) sea trout, scaled, cleaned, gutted and boned
• 1 lemon
• salt
• pepper
• 4 slices white bread, crusts removed and soaked in milk and then squeezed
• 6 canned anchovies, chopped
• 175 g (6 oz) shelled prawns, chopped
• 100 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 free-range hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon mace
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives or spring onions
• 150 mls (¼ pint) good dry white wine

Season the fish, inside and out, with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix the remaining ingredients except the wine, and using only half the butter, stuff the fish with the mixture, and secure with cocktail sticks. Place the fish in a buttered dish (using the remaining butter), pour on the wine, cover with foil, and cook for 50 to 60 minutes in a preheated oven at 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Transfer the fish to a serving platter, reduce the cooking juices, and hand around separately. (Salmon and rainbow trout can be cooked in the same way.)

This baked sea trout can be served with new potatoes and a dish of lightly cooked cucumber, a perfect accompaniment to this and the following salmon dishes.