This is everything you could hope for on our Original Sourdough Crispbread – warm, delicate, smoky fish, sweet earthy beetroot, rich soft boiled hens eggs and a sharp, sweet mustardy dill dressing. Gill likes to hot smoke the trout on the barbecue, but if time is of the essence, you can pick up really delicious hot smoked trout from delis and smokerys easily enough.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 large trout about 750g to 1 kg filleted and pin boned
- 4 Large Original Sourdough Crispbread
- 4 – 6 medium beetroot
- 3 tbsp of crème fresh
- 4 fresh eggs at room temperature
- 1 bunch of fresh dill
- 2 tsp of mustard
- 1 tbsp of cider vinegar
- 2 tsp of unrefined caster sugar
- 1 – 2 tsp of caraway seeds
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 handful of chervil leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cure:
- 50g of fine sea salt
- 25g of unrefined granulated sugar
- 2 tsp of black pepper corns crushed
- 1 tsp of fennel seeds crushed
Method
Combine all the ingredients for the cure in a small bowl. Scatter a third of the cure over the base of a large platter or plate. Lay the trout fillets skin side down onto the cure, then scatter over the remaining mixture. You’ll want to add more cure to the thicker areas of the fish.
Leave the trout in the cure for 45 minutes. During this time the cure will draw out some of the excess moisture from the trout, firm the fillets up and add lots of flavour.
Rinse the salt and sugar off the fillets. I do this by dipping them carefully into a large bowl of fresh cold water. Pat the fish fillets dry with kitchen paper and pop them on a clean plate. Keep the fish uncovered in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
Meanwhile place the eggs into a small pan and cover with water. Set the pan over a high heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 6 ½ minutes, drain and refresh under cold running water. Peel the eggs and set aside.
Combine the crème fresh, mustard, caster sugar and vinegar with a good twist of black pepper and pinch of salt and half the dill, finely chopped. Mix well and set to one side.
Light your barbecue and when the flames have burnt back, and you have some lovely hot coals glowing away, you’ll be ready to cook. Scrub the beetroot, there’s no need to peel them. Toss them in half the olive oil and the crushed caraway seeds then season them all over with salt and black pepper. Set the beetroot down on the grill and cook them, turning occasionally for 25 to 35 minutes or until they are beginning to blacken and crisp up in places and take the point of a knife with ease. Remove the beetroot from the grill to a board while you cook the trout. Add a few small pieces of hardwood or hardwood chips to your fire so it begins to smoke. It can pay to soak the wood in water for 30 minutes, so it really smokes rather than simply ignites in flames.
Lay the fish flesh side down over the smoky fire and cook for 6 – 8 minutes or until the fish is almost cooked. Turn the trout over and finish cooking it for a minute or so on the second side. The specific cooking time may vary depending on how hot your fire is or how far away your fish is from the heat. Either way, you can tell when the fish is cooked; the flakes of trout will separate with the point of your knife.
Arrange four Peter’s Yard Original Sourdough crispbread over a board or across four individual plates. Flake large chunks of warm trout from the skin and place it onto the crackers.
Slice the very top and bottom from each beetroot, then cut each one thickly into rounds.
Arrange the beetroot randomly around the trout. Quarter the eggs and divide the pieces between the crackers. Dot over the mustardy dressing and tear over the last of the dill. Season everything with a little more salt and freshly ground black pepper Scatter over the chervil leaves, and finish by trickling over the remaining olive oil. Serve at once.
By Gill Meller
