Smoked trout tarhana

This would have to be where Campbell’s stole the idea for packet soup! Tarhana is a type of dried Turkish pasta made from cracked wheat and fermented milk or yoghurt that gives the soup a lovely tang. It’s a great dish with heaps of flavor and the original recipe didn't need much tweaking, but the smoked rainbow trout really helped lift what was already a cracking little entrée.

• serves

  5

• prep

  35 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 smoked rainbow trout, skin removed, meat flaked   
• ½ cup watercress sprigs
• 1 cup celery flowers or young celery leaves
• 1 cup baby black cabbage leaves (cavolo nero)

Tarhana soup

• 1½ litres water
• 100 g butter
• pinch of salt
• 195 g (1 cup) tarhana

Smoked trout, lentil and greens salad

 

• ½ cup finely chopped carrot
• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• ½ cup finely chopped turnip
• ½ cup cooked Puy lentils
• 2 tsp black pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Instructions

To make the soup, bring the water, butter and salt to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. In a bowl, combine the tarhana and  125 ml  (½ cup) of the boiling water until smooth, then add it all back to the boiling water and whisk until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until thick and smooth.

Meanwhile, to make the salad, drop the carrot into lightly salted boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Add the turnip and celery and cook for another 30 seconds. Drain and set aside. Combine all the diced vegetables, lentils and pul biber in a bowl.

To serve, divide the trout among serving plates, top with the lentil mixture and leaves, then pour the soup around the outside and serve immediately.

Note

• Tarhana, also known as “trahanas” in Greek or “kishk” in Arabic, is a centuries old staple made by combining cracked wheat with fermented milk or yoghurt and sometimes vegetables. The pasta is then dried before being coarsely ground and used to make soups. The Turkish version is usually flavoured and coloured with powdered tomato. It is available from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern delicatessens.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.