Jono & Jules do food & wine

This comforting plate pairs buttery mash with with crisp-skinned Irish trout fillets. Plus there’s a spinach and watercress sauce to bring the dish to life.

Wine Suggestion: Pick a white wine with a fine fresh structure, clean fruit and a savoury back note to match the iron rich spinach. While we thought initially of opening a Grüner veltliner, we were tempted (again) by a Loire wine. This time Chateau du Hureau’s Argile from Saumur; all chalky, minerally from the limestone tuffeau soils, confrontingly dry and yet full of juicy, appley fruit.

Pan-fried trout with mash & spinach sauce – serves 4

• 4 fillets of trout
• 20g finely chopped fresh chives

FOR THE SPINACH SAUCE:

• 30g unsalted butter
• olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, finely sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 220-250g spinach
• 150ml double cream
• 80g watercress
• 1 unwaxed lemon

FOR THE MASH:

• 5 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks
• 75g salted butter
• whole milk (optional), we’re not mad on milk in our mash but occasionally add a splash of cream if we have it
• 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

Make the spinach sauce first. Put the butter in a heavy-based pan with a splash of olive oil over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the onion, garlic and a good pinch of salt. Fry for 10-15 minutes, until soft but not browned.

Add the spinach and cook briefly just until wilted.

Pour everything into a blender along with the cream and whizz until very smooth. Start adding the watercress in batches, whizzing after each addition, until you have achieved a peppery punch (you may not need all of it). Put it into the fridge and leave to cool (you will add some lemon juice to brighten it up before serving).

Cover the potatoes in cold water, add some salt and bring to the boil. Cook until tender, then drain and leave to steam dry. Mash until smooth.

If you are using milk, warm it in a pan with the butter, then add to the pan gradually until you have the consistency you like. Finish with the mustard and season with white pepper.

Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Season and rub the skin with a little oil.

Put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Place the fish skin side down, pressing each to the pan. Fry until the skin is crispy, then gently turn over and briefly fry on the other side until just cooked through (use your thermometer if you have one).

Meanwhile, warm the spinach sauce in a small pan and make sure the mash is piping hot.

Add a squeeze of lemon to the spinach sauce, just before serving.

Pour the sauce into warm bowls, top with the mash and then the fish and sprinkle with the chives.

(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)