While catch and release is increasingly popular, and in many cases the right thing to do, there is great joy in cooking your catch. If you are keeping your fish, you want to treat it with respect. These recipes will help you elevate and vary your meals to share with family and friends.
I’m Tony Smith, your resident Riversmiths chef. With a career spanning many decades, these recipes combine award-winning kitchen experience with my love for the outdoors and sharing food with friends and family.
Many of these recipes come from my cookbook A River Rules My Kitchen, and from my contributions to NZ Trout Fisher magazine.
Herb & Spice Crusted Salmon Fillet
The perfect treat to feed a crowd, this salmon recipe is easy to put together, and superbly tasty.
Insalata di Trote (Trout Salad)
A summery trout recipe inspired by the Italian tunnellers who worked on the Tongariro Hydro Power Scheme so many years ago.
Chinese-style Braised Trout with Vegetable Greens
Inspired by visits to the schist huts on the banks of the Clutha River – many of which were inhabited by Chinese miners in the 1860s.
Baked Trout with Herbed Tomatoes
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.
Blackberry & Mint Relish
Just a small spoonful or two of this adds a splash of colour and taste to any game dish. It is also good paired with pan-fried trout.
Tongariro Trout with Wild Blackberries & Mint
Catching a trout on the Tongariro as a young chef and finding wild blackberries and mint on the riverbank encouraged me to enter a Taupō trout-cooking competition with this dish.
Filleting Trout or Salmon
A step-by-step guide to filleting and pin-boning trout or salmon (and other fish).
Riversmiths NZ 