Top 10 trout rivers. Fishing.

Wild trout fishing is an aspiration for many fishermen.

The best trout recipes cater for every taste and every budget, and what is more you can (if you fish on stocked ponds over winter) fish for trout all year round.

In our collection of the best trout recipes there are versions that can be adapted (or have been adapted) from their salmon counterparts.

Wild Scottish trout come top of the culinary list for their sweet, bright-pink flesh, but even their plumper southern cousins caught in the Itchen or Test are delicious if treated right and used in the right trout recipes.

What to cook with trout

Often, the ingredients that complement trout best are to be found growing nearby: wild fennel, sorrel and ramsons (wild garlic) all go well with fish, and there’s a great deal of satisfaction to be found in foraging for your own herbs.

Not everyone fishes, but that’s no reason not to eat trout. Farmed fish are available from fishmongers (if you can find one) and supermarkets, but make sure they are fresh. The skin should be shiny, the spots still visible, and eyes unsunken.

Trout is easy to cook, the main rule being don’t overdo it. The following recipes are all tried, tested and almost impossible to muck up for anyone with a grain of cooking common sense.

Roast whole trout with brown buttered almonds

No-one hopes for a nettle glut, but if you have had one unintentionally embrace the best of seasonal produce and get them into the kitchen. Philippa Davis’ roast whole trout with brown buttered almonds and nettle, spinach and nutmeg gratin is an impressive spring supper. Always cook or crush nettles…

Cider and buckwheat crepes with asparagus and trout

Asparagus and trout are undoubtedly best eaten simply with a squeeze of lemon. But if you are tempted to try something a little different, have a go at Philippa Davis’ cider and buckwheat crepes with asparagus and trout. Delicious as a starter and main, serve one pancake per person for…

Trout carpaccio with asparagus, fennel, shallots and lemon

Both trout and asparagus are at their very best right now. Philippa Davis’ two versions of trout carpaccio with asparagus makes delicious starters. As the main ingredients in these recipes are served raw this should only be done when they are both really fresh. The first recipe uses subtler flavours,…

Malaysian style trout with spicy sambul sauce

Malaysian style trout with spicy sambul sauce and ginger rice makes a delicious main from across the globe. Our culinary outlook is getting more international, and this exotic offering is guaranteed to impress your guests. For a home-grown main with an African twist, try our plaice with ras el hanout…

Fresh trout. Delicious, nutritious and ready to cook

Trout chowder is a deeply comforting dish, and one of our best trout recipes that works extremely well in the autumn months, or a chilly British summer. Paired with tomato and basil it works equally well with smoked or fresh tour, as does the trout and fried almond pate recipe.…

Fresh trout. Delicious, nutritious and ready to cook

Trout and fried almond pâté is a great palate reviver. We have all eaten standard supermarket offerings and they tend to taste a little…eugh. But this pate really does earn its place in our best trout recipes by having some serious class. You can use fresh trout or smoked trout (if…

Top ten trout recipes

Trout in a bag may not sound glamorous (say trout a la vapeur if you prefer) but it is one of the most simple of our best trout recipes. It can be tackled by a novice, but yet impressive enough to stand up to the job of a proper dinner table…