This is a pretty simple dish of trout cooked in a herbed-butter. It supposedly contains ingredients (trout, butter and herbs) that would have been available in East Anglia, but it has a distinctive modern taste. I cooked the fish in a pan on the stove, but for greater authenticity you may try spit cooking it, barbecuing it, or cooking it in a griddle over an open fire. I used fresh herbs, though you can use dry herbs instead. The original recipe was for 6 fish, but I only cooked four. I have modified it accordingly. I served with boiled carrots, one of the few vegetables that the Anglo-Saxons are known to have eaten.

I thought the fish was OK, though buttering the inside of the fish may have improved the flavor.

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Griddled Trout with Herbs

Ingredients

4 fresh trout

4 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1 tbsp. dried

4 tbsp. soft butter

12 fresh mint leaves or 1 1/2 tsp. dried

leaves from 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp. dried

4 fresh sage leaves or 1 scant teaspoon dried

1-2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

4-6 grinds black pepper

Instructions

Clean the trout. Put one sprig or generous shake of rosemary down the middle of each fish. Chop remaining herbs. Add herbs, salt and pepper to the butter, mix. Coat the fish on the butter mixture. Grill fish on both sides until done, about 4 or 5 minutes. The skin should be well browned and flaking off. Serve.

Adapted from The British Museum Cookbook