The pandemic has shifted eating our habits (in many positive ways!), with more people gravitating towards tinned fish and the classic tuna sandwich regaining popularity. This recipe embraces and celebrates those timeless delicacies, while supporting modern, sustainable seafood producers! 

You can think of this almost as a healthier tuna sandwich, where the mayo is replaced by avocado and the tuna gets swapped with Fishwife’s incredible smoked rainbow trout. You’ll also add some acid in the form of lemon juice or pickle brine, plus some apple, celery, and red onion for crunch.

The real star of the recipe though is Fishwife’s Rainbow Trout! Fishwife is a modern tinned seafood company that was born during the pandemic. One day in May 2020, it occurred to founders Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb that tinned fish had become a frequent centerpiece of their meals, but there was a major gap in the American market for affordable, sustainably-caught, and well-branded tinned fish. They’re now on a mission to fill that gap by working with small boat fisherfolk, sustainable aquaculture farms, and microcanneries to bring delicious conservas to your homes. You can learn more about the company from my conversation on Instagram Live with Becca here!

I was SUPER excited to finally try their Rainbow Trout in particular because I love Riverence Trout Company, the fishery from whom they source. Riverence’s trout are raised in pure Idaho spring water in the Rocky Mountains, always without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or genetic engineering. The trout are fed a sustainable, nutrient-rich diet, AND have 62x less mercury than the FDA’s allowable standard. Once harvested, the trout is brined in extra-virgin olive oil, salt, garlic, and brown sugar, smoked in small batches over aromatic alder wood, hand-packed, and canned by a family-owned cannery on the coast of Oregon. 

I started Sea Pantry so you can have delicious, nutritious items from the sea on hand everyday. Fishwife’s tinned smoked trout is a perfect item to have stocked on hand because of its versatility: you can eat it straight out of the can as a snack, on crostinis, sprinkled on a salad, as part of a beautiful seacuterie board, or as the main ingredient in a delicious sandwich like this one. 

TIP: For the sandwich, make sure your avocados are ripe and supple. If your avocados are hard when you purchase them, you can put them in a paper bag, where the gasses that ripen them will turn them nice and soft. 

Makes 4 Servings

  • 2 cans of Fishwife Smoked Rainbow Trout
  • 2 large ripe avocado, skin and pit removed
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/4 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, pickle juice, or water (if using water, increase salt slightly) 
  • 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 8 slices seeded wheat bread
  1. In a large bowl, mash up avocado with the back of a fork or potato masher. 
  2. Add rainbow trout, celery, red onion, and apple. Gently fold together. 
  3. Add lemon or pickle juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
  4. Serve on bread, top on salad, or eat plain. Will keep up to one week in the refrigerator.

Want more tinned seafood recipes? Try this Tinned Smoked Salmon and Caper Dip!