Day 105: Penne with smoked trout

So apparently this blog now has a wider audience who maybe aren’t the atypical readers of food blogs. These new readers are in the form of Dear Husband’s part-time undergrad students so welcome to you all! I was intrigued as to how my blog came up in class and it just so happened that Dear Husband was talking about environmental issues including carbon footprints. So, that got him thinking of course about his own carbon footprint. And, of course, carbon footprints are very closely linked to food produce and, thinking out loud, dreaded to think what his own carbon footprint was because of all the ‘fabulous’ meals I make him.

Carbon footprints are relatively new thing which is something we now see on the packaging. For example, Marks and Spencers have a policy on trying to reduce the carbon footprint associated with their food which is why I’m sure they love selling the Donegal potatoes in their store but aren’t maybe as keen on the carbon footprint of the sweet potatoes which they import from the US.

Right, so Dear Husband was talking about carbon footprints – food produce – food – dinner. I’m sure I know how the circuits are wired in that very smart brain of his. I know for a fact that at that point he was wondering what I was making for dinner and he started thinking out loud. I always say that Dear Husband is mid-way through one meal when he is thinking about the next or, worse still, the one after that! For the record though, on his dinner menu tonight was Penne with smoked trout. 

Well, what I had to do was start off with the pasta which I put on to cook first. The recipe said to use penne but fusilli could be used also which is what I went for. While it was cooking, in a large bowl, I mixed crème fraîche with lemon juice and olive oil. I then diced an avocado and crumbled up some smoked trout. To finish, I tossed the cooked pasta into the creamy mix, folded in the avocado and trout and seasoned. With those little bits to do, dinner was served.

The verdict…

Dear Husband scored it a very surprising 8 marks out of 10. He said the ‘salmon’ was lovely but, it was only after he’d eaten it, I told him that it was actually trout. (You know my strategy by now - if it's anything remotely different, I don't tell him until after he's eaten it as he's less likely to say he doesn't like it.) Even more surprising was the fact that Dear Son and Baby Daughter started eating it also despite them having their dinner earlier in the evening. The only thing about the trout was that I literally had to comb through it to check for bones and there were some really fine bones in it. 

Overall, this was an extremely quick and easy meal to make and highly recommended because of those two factors plus for being so delicious. It really was a dish with minimal fuss which I love. Dear Husband reckons it would be a great dish for a lunch or supper so onto The List this recipe goes. Until tomorrow then, happy cooking…