A simple method best used when freshly picked summer tomatoes are available, otherwise pay a little extra for those vine-ripened tomatoes available most of the year.

Ingredients (to serve 4)

• 4 * 150g trout fillets salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 slices 2-day-old bread a handful each of parsley and basil, chopped
• a few sprigs picked thyme teaspoons good olive oil
• 4 ripe summer tomatoes, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the trout filets into a baking dish, flat side down. Season with salt and pepper.

Process the bread until fine in a food processor. Add the herbs and process a little until the mix ‘greens up’ a little. Add enough olive oil to turn the mixture a light sandy texture.

Place the tomatoes in overlapping rows on the trout. Sprinkle over the herb and bread mix and bake for about 10 minutes. (The size of the fillets will determine the exact cooking time.) Colour a little under the oven grill to finish.

Serve with a mixed lettuce salad drizzled with olive oil and lemon. 

From the book A River Rules my Kitchen, by Tony Smith

Food styling by Deborah Aspray