Chef Nanda Cardosa -Smoked Trout with Horseradish Catalan, Croutes and Pickles
As pretty and elegant as can be expected, when using beautiful smoked salmon trout!
(time: 1 ½ hours , serves 4 as a starter)
Ingredients
For the horseradish Catalan
50 g parmesan cheese, finely grated
60 g free-range egg yolks
40 g whole free-range eggs
250 ml fresh cream
1 gelatine leaf
30 ml creamed horseradish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the smoked trout
1 trout fillet (about 250 g)
25 g castor sugar
25 g fine salt
200 g smoking chips
For the croutes
¼ loaf of sourdough bread, broken into small chunks
10 ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
To complete the dish
1 lemon, peeled and cut into segments
10 g gherkins, cut into quarters
10 g pickled cocktail onions, cut into quarters
10 g bronze fennel
5 g chive flowers
Method
For the horseradish Catalan
Place the parmesan cheese, egg yolks and eggs together in a pot. Mix together using a whisk. Pour in the cream and mix again. Place the pot onto a medium heat. Continue to cook the custard until it thickens and starts to curdle. Remove from the heat and transfer the custard into the jug of a blender. Place the gelatine leaf into a bowl of cold water and leave to hydrate until soft, then remove from the water and squeeze out any excess water, add into the jug with the custard. Add the creamed horseradish into the custard. Blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Pour the custard into a piping bag and refrigerate until cool and set.
For the smoked trout
Check the trout fillet to ensure that all the bones have been removed, place skin side down onto a small tray. Mix the sugar and salt together in a bowl then use a spoon and scoop all of the mixture over onto the flesh side of the trout fillet. Place in the refrigerator and leave to cure for 1 hour.
After one hour remove the trout from the fridge and gently rinse under cold running water until all of the sugar and salt mixture has been removed. Place onto paper towel and gently pat dry. Line a baking tray with tinfoil then scatter the smoking chips onto the tin foil, use a blow torch to light the smoking chips, once they are burning place a cooling rack over the chips. Place the trout fillet onto the cooling rack and use tin foil to close the tray with the trout – ensure that the tinfoil is sealed all around to keep the smoke inside. Allow the trout fillet to smoke for 15 minutes before removing from the tray.
Once the trout fillet is dried, use a sharp carving knife carefully trim off the skin.
Carve the trout fillet into thin slices (about 2 mm thick).
On a flat surface lay out a layer of cling film. Place the slices of the trout flat down the centre of the cling wrap. Cut the tip off of the piping bag of the horseradish Catalan and then pipe the Catalan down the centre of the of the trout. Use the cling wrap to help lift the trout to roll up into a long cylinder. Carve into four portions.
For the croutes
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the sourdough bread chunks into a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the croutes out onto a baking tray and place into the preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes toss the croutes around. If they are not completely dried and crisp, place back into the oven for a further 5 minutes.
To complete the dish
Place the portion of the smoked trout roll onto the side of the plate. Next to the trout place the sourdough croutes onto the plate followed with the gherkins, lemon segments, pickled onions, bronze fennel and chive flowers.
