Taste Buds magazine logo
Smoked sea-trout hummus & quails egg on melba toasts

Smoked sea trout hummus, quail’s eggs & melba toasts

The smokiness of the fish is the perfect foil for the quail’s eggs in this simple but impressive starter

Ingredients

  • 12 quail’s eggs
  • 4 slices of thick white toast (it might be worth doing a couple of extra in case of breakages)
  • Dill fronds for garnish

For the hummus

  • 250g smoked sea trout fillets
  • 200g cannellini beans
  • 1 tbsp tahini paste
  • 1 tbsp horseradish sauce
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp crème fraîche
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  1. To make the hummus, blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper or lemon juice if needed.
  2. Boil the quail’s eggs in boiling water for 2½-3 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Peel once cool enough to handle and cut in half.
  3. To make the melba toast, cook the bread in a toaster. Remove the crusts and cut the toast in half horizontally. Cut each half into strips. Place onto a baking tray and place under a hot grill until the edges begin to curl up. Be careful they don’t burn.
  4. Place a teaspoon amount of the trout hummus on one end of the melba toasts and top with half a quail’s egg and garnish with dill fronds.

Recipe by Jody Spencer

Taste Buds chef: Jody Spencer

Prefer Print?

Six times a year, delivered to your door

Annual subscription: £18
Single Issue: £4

MayJune 2025 issue out now

Try before you buy. View digital edition

Go to Shop
Taste Buds MayJun25 front cover