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Next make the sauce by melting the butter, stirring in the flour and cooking for a minute or more. Keep this roux pale. Pour in the cream or milk, stirring, and then beat to make a smooth consistency. Cool slightly, then mix in the yolks, the cheese and seasoning. Pour a little clarified butter over the top to prevent a skin forming.

Rinse the trout, dip them in milk, then in flour and brown them in butter on both sides without cooking them through. Do this one or two at a time. Put them side by side in an oval gratin dish which has been brushed out with butter.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold a little into the cheese sauce to slacken it, then fold the rest into the mixture lightly. Pile on to the trout and bake in the oven preheated to gas 6, 200°C (400°F) until the soufflé is puffed and golden brown – 10–15 minutes. Serve immediately.

A.J. McCLANE’S BLUE TROUT

By this method of cooking, the natural film of slime on the trout’s skin is turned to a slatey-blue of great softness. The important thing is that the trout should be killed and cleaned just before going into the pot (although I find, that one gets quite a good colour from frozen Danish trout). I have always slipped the trout into a couple of litres (about 3½ pt) of boiling water, acidulated with 6 tablespoons of wine vinegar, and simmered them until just cooked.

Mr McClane, who is after all a great fisherman, has much stronger views on what is right: and with his experience I cannot argue. This is what he does.

He makes a court bouillon of 4 parts of water to 1 of white wine and flavours it with the usual pot herbs and aromatics. Then he strains it into a clean pan and keeps it bubbling on one burner. On another burner he has a large pan containing 2 parts of water to 1 of tarragon vinegar. When this boils, he grabs his newly caught, newly killed and newly cleaned trout with a pair of tongs and lowers them into the vinegar-water. When the colour is appropriately blue, he transfers the trout to the court bouillon. This knocks it off the boil, but when it bubbles again, he puts on the lid, removes the pan from the heat and leaves the trout to complete their cooking.

‘Classically, blue trout are served with marble-size new potatoes bathed in butter and garnished with parsley. There should also be a side dish of fresh asparagus smothered in mousseline sauce… A dry white wine would be the proper mate to such rich fare. A watercress salad is a must.’

I would put in a plea for a walnut and horseradish sauce*.

TROUT IN WHITE WINE JELLY

A cool dish for a warm day, either as a first course or a main course at midday.

Serves 6

6 trout, about 250 g (8 oz) each

450 ml (15 fl oz) water

150 ml (5 fl oz) dry white wine

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 onion, sliced

1 small carrot, sliced

½ bay leaf

2 sprigs of parsley

2 sprigs of thyme

¼ teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon peppercorns

Clean the trout and set aside. Simmer the remaining ingredients together in a covered pan for 30 minutes or a little longer. Leave to cool.

Put the trout in a pan, side by side. Strain over them the cold bouillon and bring gently to the boil. Barely simmer for 8 minutes, or until the trout are cooked. Remove them, take off the skin and then carefully fillet the fish. Lay the fillets side by side in a shallow dish. Put the skin, bone and debris into the bouillon and simmer down to half the original quantity. Taste for seasoning – the flavour should be fairly strong. Strain over the trout, and put into the refrigerator to chill. The liquid sets to a light jelly.

TROUT OR OTHER RIVER FISH BAKED IN THE LOIR STYLE

Every cook in the val du Loir – and in north and western France, I suspect – uses this recipe for river fish because the ingredients are always in house or garden. The sudden return of a fishing party causes no flurry. By the time a couple of bottles are emptied, the fish is on the table, its freshness