A Backyard Picnic With Friends….Smoked Trout Salad

It was a glorious Spring day. After weeks of false starts, it was a divine 26 degrees and couldn’t have been more perfect for my backyard picnic.
Gorgeous friends, yummy food, laughter and love.
That’s what I’m talking about.

There will be more recipes from this day to come over the following weeks….until then, you’ll have to satisfy your hunger with this perfect Spring salad.

Yield – enough for 4 as main or 7 as part of a meal

You will need – 

• 1 smoked trout
• 2 cups pasta, penne or farfalle ideal
• 1/2 spanish onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup peas – frozen is fine
• 1 cup broad beans – frozen is fine
• 1 bunch asparagus, woody stalks removed and chopped into 1.5cm chunks
• 3 big handfuls of rocket
• 150g ricotta
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 preserved lemon, flesh removed, finely chopped – if you have it
• a big slug of good salad olive oil
• lemon pepper if you have it or just salt and pepper will do

Cook your pasta in salted water. Drain and cool.
Pick your trout into a large bowl, taking care to remove all little bones. Throw in your rocket and chopped onions.
Toss your broad beans into a pot of boiling water, when tender – 3 or 4 minutes – drain and leave to cool. Remove the tough outer skin when they are cool enough to handle. Quickly blanch your asparagus, peas ensuring to leave them with a little bite. Drain and cool.
Toss your green vegetables onto your salad, add your pasta, preserved lemon, lemon juice and oil and ricotta.
Season generously and toss.