Smoked Trout Crostini

Since I went on my rant about the difficulty I encountered while looking for trout, I thought I should share with you why I was searching in the first place. Truly one of my favorite appetizers in the world, smoked trout crostini. I first tried this years ago and instantly fell in love.

Since the trout is smoked, it kind of maintains it's fresh almost raw texture with the addition of a sultry smoky flavor. I only season the trout with a little salt and pepper and a light squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I love to serve the trout on crunchy crostini that's been slathered with a basil parsley pesto. The brightness of the parsley is a perfect combination for the fresh fish. Of course you could substitute trout for salmon but I like the delicate flavor of the trout.

The best thing about these appetizers is that you can smoke the trout the night before, make the pesto ahead of time and just toast the crostini and assemble the day of your party. You can't go wrong with an original, easy and beautiful appetizer. If you can find the trout, that is.