ingredients
serves 4
1/4 cup cooked brown rice
3/4 cup medium oatmeal
1/3 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese
2 level teaspoons chopped or snipped fresh chives
1 small tomato, finely chopped
2 level teaspoons whole-grain mustard
2 level teaspoons quark or low-fat natural yoghurt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 Bloaters, each about 1/2 pound, gutted and cleaned, heads and bones removed
Wooden cocktail sticks for securing
Sprigs of flat-leaf parsley to garnish
method
OVEN: Preheat to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4)
1. Mix the rice with half the oatmeal, the Cheddar, chives, tomato, mustard and quark or yoghurt to make a well-blended stuffing. Season with pepper.
2. Wash the Bloaters and pat dry with kitchen paper. Fill each with a quarter of the stuffing and pin the edges together securely with cocktail sticks threaded along the belly flaps.
3. Sprinkle half the remaining oatmeal into a shallow ovenproof dish and lay the Bloaters on top in a single layer. Sprinkle with the rest of the oatmeal.
4. Cook, uncovered, in the heated oven for about 15 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork. Lift the Bloaters carefully onto warmed dinner plates, remove the cocktail sticks and garnish with the parsley.
