Scallops on Sunday: Trout or Scallops with pesto, tomatoes and vegetables

Ring! Ring! Ring! “Hello?” “Hi, this is Chris. May I ask Madame Thermomix a question, please?” “Sure, Chris, go ahead.”

And so our Sunday dinner was inspired. Chris, a  new Thermomix owner, asked me a few questions about using the Varoma to make the recipe called “Trout with pesto, tomatoes and vegetables” on page 101 of “Fast and Easy Cooking,” the 300-recipe cookbook that comes with every Thermomix bought from UK Thermomix. Written by UK Thermomix Director Janie Turner, “Fast and Easy Cooking” is packed with just that – fast and easy recipes for healthy meals made in the Thermomix.

Chris’ question was about wetting baking paper and using it to line the Varoma. Why? What does this do? Well, it’s simple really. The Varoma steamer is an oval shaped, 2-level, 3-litre steamer that sits on top of the Thermomix lid and enables you to harness the steam from whatever you’re cooking in the Thermomix bowl (soup, a sauce, plain water or an infusion of some sort) to steam the contents of the Varoma with the same electricity. Very clever and very green. There are holes in both layers of the Varoma to allow the steam to circulate, but what do you do when you want a sauce? Aha! That’s where the baking paper (parchment paper or waxed paper) comes in. In effect, the paper stops the sauce from running through the holes – brilliant. But it will also stop the steam from getting through and your food won’t cook. So that’s why you wet the baking paper, because the water makes the paper permeable and allows the steam to go through the paper and cook your food but your sauce stays where it’s meant to be. Did you get that? Have a look at the pictures and it will become clear. I hope!

“Trout with pesto, tomatoes and vegetables” is ready in 30 minutes and oh-so-tasty! I had some gorgeous scallops in the freezer which I used instead of trout and it was equally delicious because there’s no parmesan in this pesto. This makes for a lighter basil and parsley taste which doesn’t overpower your fish or shellfish. Yum!

Trout with pesto, tomatoes and vegetables
Recipe from “Fast and Easy Cooking” by UK Thermomix Director Janie Turner
This French recipe is a wonderful way to cook trout. Serves 4. Cook some rice in the simmering basket at the same time for an all-in-one Varoma meal.

4 fillets of trout, skinned
200 g baby tomatoes
50 g extra virgin olive oil plus extra to drizzle
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 anchovy fillet
20 g basil leaves
30 g parsley
salt and pepper to taste
200 g courgettes
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 small onions, 100 to 120 g total, peeled
600 g water

1. Chop the garlic, anchovy, basil and parsley 5 seconds/Speed 7.
2. Scrape down the sides of the TM bowl with the spatula. Add the oil and mix 10 seconds/Speed 4 to make a pesto. Set aside in a bowl.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half and mix carefully into the pesto. Cut a piece of baking paper, dip it in water, and use it to cover the bottom of the Varoma. Place the fish fillets on the paper, covering them with the tomato and pesto mixture. Grind some pepper over everything.
4. Cut the onions into quarters, the carrots and courgettes into sticks, and place them into the internal steaming basket in that order. Set the basket aside.
5. Weigh the water into the TM bowl with a pinch of salt. Place the Varoma on the lid of the TM bowl. Cook 22 minutes/Varoma Temperature/Speed 1.
6. Lift the Varoma off the TM lid carefully, remove the TM lid then insert the internal steaming basket. Replace the TM lid and Varoma. Cook 8 minutes/Varoma Temperature/Speed 1. Check that the vegetables are cooked. Arrange the trout on a plate with the vegetables and drizzle some olive oil over top. 

Bon appétit !

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