Recipe: Raw Trout & Fennel Salad

RECIPE (Serves 6)

INGREDIENTS

Cured trout:

• 7 oz trout fillet, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 tsp white wine vinegar
• 5 rosemary leaves

Brittle:

• 4 oz sugar
• 2 oz fennel seeds
• 1 oz black sesame seeds

Grapefruit gin vinaigrette:

• 2 oz sugar
• 3 oz grapefruit juice
• 1.5 oz gin
• 2 tbsp tonic water
• 4 oz olive oil
• Salt to taste

Fennel cream:

• 2 fennel bulbs
• 2 oz olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

To plate:

• 7 oz trout fillet, thinly sliced raw
• 1 fennel bulb, shaved
• 1 grapefruit, segmented
• Fresh oregano leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Cure the trout: Combine the trout, lemon juice, salt, white wine vinegar, and rosemary in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours. Remove the fish, pat dry, and keep refrigerated until plating.
2. Make the brittle: Melt the sugar in a dry pan over medium heat until a deep amber caramel forms. Stir in the fennel seeds and black sesame seeds, then immediately pour onto greased baking paper. Cover with a second greased sheet and roll as thin as possible. Allow to cool and harden, then break into shards.
3. Make the vinaigrette: Melt the sugar in a pan to a caramel. Add the grapefruit juice and reduce until syrupy. Remove from heat and whisk in the gin, tonic water, and olive oil. Season with salt to taste.
4. Make the fennel cream: Coarsely chop the fennel bulbs and simmer in salted water with a drizzle of olive oil until very soft. Drain well and blend until smooth, drizzling in the olive oil gradually. Finish with lemon juice and season with salt. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve for a silky texture.
5. Plate: Spread a generous spoonful of fennel cream on each deep plate. In a bowl, gently toss the raw trout, shaved fennel, grapefruit segments, and oregano leaves with a little vinaigrette. Arrange on top of the cream. Drape the cured trout pieces over the salad, finish with brittle shards, and drizzle a little more vinaigrette on top.