Smoked Trout Toasts

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) bakery challah bread loaf
• 1 (12-ounce) skinless hot-smoked trout fillet
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped drained capers
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 1/3 cup white sesame seeds
• Vegetable oil
• Dill pickle chips, Chinese sweet-hot mustard, and lemon wedges, for serving

Steps

1. Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Line rack with paper towels.
2. Cut 6 (1-inch-thick) bread slices from middle of challah loaf. Trim off bottom crust of each slice, and discard. Set bread slices aside. Reserve remaining challah loaf for another use.
3. Using your hands, gently flake trout fillet into small chunks in a medium bowl. Add eggs, mayonnaise, chives, capers, and dill; stir with a rubber spatula to combine.
4. Transfer half (about 1 cup) of trout mixture to a food processor. Pulse until relatively smooth (like a well-mashed tuna salad), about 4 pulses. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Repeat with remaining trout mixture, adding processed trout mixture to bowl.
5. Spread 1/3 cup trout mixture evenly on each bread slice, spreading all the way to edges of bread. Let stand to help mixture adhere to bread, about 10 minutes.
6. Pour sesame seeds into a wide shallow bowl, and shake bowl to spread seeds in an even layer. Press each toast, trout side down, into sesame seeds to evenly coat.
7. Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch into a large nonstick skillet; heat over medium until oil shimmers vigorously and a small piece of trout toast sizzles when added to oil. Working in 3 batches, place 2 bread slices, trout side down, in skillet; cook until edges of trout mixture are golden brown (crust of bread will be deeply browned), about 2 minutes. Flip bread slices; cook until bread is golden brown and crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to prepared wire rack to drain. (Adjust heat as needed to prevent toasts from browning too quickly.)
8. Cut toasts into quarters. If desired, serve with pickle chips, sweet-hot mustard, and lemon wedges.