Volume 10, Issue 115 - June 9, 2006

TGIF ,

I have enjoyed this week's topic on trout. We thank the fine folks from Clear Springs Foods for their content and recipes. When the time comes for you to purchase trout products, always look for the Clear Springs label. Their name on the label assures quality.

You have a great weekend, you deserve it!

Quality Assurance:

Water:

The water used to grow our fish comes from deep within the Snake Plain aquifer. This huge and unique underground water reservoir delivers clean cold water (58 degrees F) all year round- just right for growing Rainbow Trout. Each of our production farms receives water directly from this aquifer before there are any other uses. As part of our routine quality assurance program we test the water for possible contaminants including DDT, DDE, DDD, PCBs, toxaphene, mercury and cadmium. The results have always indicated no contaminants. To help ensure this precious resource is protected, we are active participants in ground water protection efforts and help advise the state of Idaho on these matters.

Production:

Each Rainbow Trout we raise comes from our own strain of trout developed from careful attention to growth characteristics and overall fish performance. Our brood station, located at Soda Springs, receives only slightly colder water than our farms but allows us to provide nearly all our own egg needs. These eggs are delivered free of contamination to each farm.

Each fish is fed only the best. Since we manufacture our own feed, we ensure selection of the best ingredients for our production systems. Each ingredient must meet specific acceptance criteria of purity. Each feed pellet is pasteurized during feed manufacture further ensuring feed wholesomeness. Since the composition of a fish is essentially dependent upon what it eats, this wholesomeness becomes extremely important.

Effective fish health management is essential for ensuring good fish performance and wholesome products. We employ only federally approved methods of health management and focus on disease prevention. Safe, effective vaccines are routinely used. When approved antibiotics must be used, observance of all clearance times are strictly enforced.

All our Rainbow Trout are raised in carefully constructed bird exclusion cages. This helps prevent our feathery friends from contaminating the water and from eating our fish. As a result, our fish are free of bacteria such as Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes. This is verified by routine testing.

Source: Clear Springs Foods

Clear Springs Foods offers a wide variety of Fresh and Frozen Rainbow Trout Styles for the Foodservice and Retail Markets. Visit the Product and Recipe sections.

Rainbow Trout Florentine with Tomato Stuffing

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

12 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3 pounds raw spinach, chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and black pepper, to taste
1-1/2 cups minced onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup dry white wine
6 cups peeled, seeded, chopped tomato
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
2-3/4 cups fresh bread cubes
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons lemon juice
12 (5 ounces each) Butterfly Style Clear·CutsŪ Boneless Rainbow Trout Fillets
1/2 cup lemon butter*

Preparation:

Sauté half of garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden, stir in spinach, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until spinach is tender, drain. Reserve. Sauté remaining garlic in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion, cook until translucent. Add tomato paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer. Add white wine and cook over high heat about 4 minutes. Add tomato and water and simmer 5 minutes, remove from heat. Stir in bread cubes, cilantro, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, reserve.

Per order:

Open fillet, layer 1/4 cup spinach mixture on flesh side of bottom half. Top with 1/3 to 1/2 cup tomato stuffing, fold top half over bottom. Bake at 450 degrees F until trout is opaque, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve whole or sliced and fanned top with 2 teaspoons lemon butter.

* To make lemon butter, mix 1/2 cup unsalted butter with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper until smooth.

Source: Clear Springs Foods

Processing:

Once harvested, our Rainbow Trout are delivered alive to our state of the art processing plant. The fish are unloaded and immediately sent through processing. By attending to strict cleanliness standards, processing times, and temperature controls, we minimize opportunity for contamination. We meet all U.S. FDA seafood safety requirements with our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan and we also participate in a voluntary HACCP program operated by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Once processed the fish are packaged fresh or frozen, loaded on our own trucks assuring temperature control, and shipped to markets nation wide.

Quality Assurance Testing:

Strict attention to our HACCP plan along with additional quality control processes ensures our seafood products are safe and wholesome. Routine quality assessment procedures include:

• Fish feed - must meet specific characteristics and is tested for pesticides and other contaminants.
• Rearing water - must meet specific characteristics and is tested for pesticides and other contaminants.
• Processing plants - routine and vigorous cleanliness standards imposed. Bacteriologic screens (ATP swabs) and Staphylococcus aureus tests for signs of bacterial contamination in the processing environment.
• Fish and fish products - routine examination for bacteria including total aerobic plate count, coliform bacteria, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. Our products must be free of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella. Since we are not handling warm-blooded animals, E. coli 0157:H7 is not a naturally found bacterium in our fish.

Source: Clear Springs Foods

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Sautéed Rainbow Trout Atop Bounty of the Harvest Salad

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

12 (5 ounces each) Butterfly Style Clear·CutsŪ Boneless Rainbow Trout Fillets
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium heads Bibb lettuce, torn
4 endive stalks, sliced
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
3/4 cup corn kernels, cooked
3 avocados (medium, 48 count)
1 cup peeled, diced plum tomato, marinated*
1-1/2 cups chopped, toasted pecans
1 pound asparagus, blanched and sliced
4 cups cooked fusilli pasta, cooled
1-1/2 cups Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Per order:

Cut 1 trout fillet into strips, sprinkle flesh side with 1/2 teaspoon Parmesan. Sauté flesh-side down in lightly oiled skillet 4 minutes, turn and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from skillet, remove skin. Keep warm.

Line serving plate with 2/3 cup Bibb lettuce and 1/2 cup endive. Toss 2 teaspoons Romano cheese, 1 tablespoon corn, 1 tablespoon marinated tomato, 2 tablespoons pecans, 1/4 cup asparagus and 1/3 cup pasta with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette, arrange over top of lettuce. Top salad with cooked trout. Garnish with 1/4 sliced avocado.

* To make marinated tomatoes, marinate 1 cup peeled, diced plum tomato with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped chervil and 1 clove minced garlic.

Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Makes 1-1/2 cups (2 tablespoons per serving)

Purée until smooth: 1/3 cup dried tomatoes (packed in oil and drained), 3 tablespoons honey, 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar and black pepper to taste. Reserve.