COOK TIME: 10 minutes
PREP TIME: 20 minutes + 15 minutes for fish to cure
SERVES: 4
DIFFICULTY: Medium
DIETARY RESTRICTIONS: nuts, dairy, fish
INGREDIENTS
2 large brown trout, filleted and pin boned
50g sea salt
200g large leafed loose tea, such as assam
200g plain rice
2 rooster potatoes, peeled, cubed and soft boiled
2 large beetroot, peeled, cubed and soft boiled
25g walnuts
1 clove garlic
1 small red chilli
Juice ½ lemon
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 shallot, chopped
1 small bunch parsley
50ml walnut oil
50ml vegetable oil
1tbsp grated horseradish
Salt and pepper to season
Tbsp crème fraiche
METHOD
• Rub the flesh with sea salt and leave to cure for 15 minutes covered in the fridge.
• Wash the salt off the fish.
• Line an old thick bottomed roasting tin with foil and sprinkle in the tea and rice.
• Place a cake rack or a grill rack in the tin and put the fish on top, skin side down.
• Set the roasting tin on the stove and heat until smoking.
• Cover the entire tin with tin foil and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave to rest so that the residual smoke can continue to flavour the fish.
• Remove the foil and inspect the fish. It will smell like smoked bacon. It should be quite pink (raw) on the inside, and cooked on the outside. Refrigerate the fish until needed.
• In a large bowl, add the chopped shallots, grated horseradish, lemon juice and vinegar, allow to steep.
• Cook the potatoes for 7 minutes, and at the same time in a separate pan, boil the beetroot for 7 minutes.
• Whilst they are boiling, mash the garlic and chilli to a paste in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt. Add the walnut and roughly grind, add this to the vinegar and lemon juice, now add the walnut oil and vegetable oil.
• Strain the beetroot and potatoes and add to a bowl. Add half the dressing and mix whilst still hot. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and season with pepper.
• For service: Press the beetroot and potatoes into a medium sized ramekin and turn neatly onto the plate. Put two pieces of the trout on top. Put a tablespoon of crème fraiche on top of the trout and then drizzle the dressing around the edge of the plate and over the crème fraiche.
