Brook Trout Fillet Salad
Smoked brook trout fillets are served with mixed greens, colorful julienned vegetables, and a creamy sauce made from smoked trout stock. The trout used are lightly smoked; the flesh is not dried. If you must buy the trout already filleted (many times, smoked fish are sold filleted and pre-packaged), buy one extra to serve as "trimmings" in the stock. Not as good as having bones and all, but still a help.
Ingredients
- Brook trout - 4, lightly smoked
- Stock
- Trout trimmings - (above)
- Carrot - 1, roughly chopped
- Onion - 1, roughly chopped
- Celery Stalks - 2, with leaves, roughly chopped
- Whole Peppercorns - 1 tablespoon
- Juniper berries - 6 to 8
- Dry white wine - 1 cup
- Water - 2 cups
- Sauce
- Strained stock - (above)
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Vinaigrette
- White wine vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Red Wine Vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Water - 2 tablespoons
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Canola oil - 1/4 cup
- Sugar - 1 teaspoon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Salad
- Yellow carrot - 1, pared and cut into fine julienne
- Orange carrot - 1, pared and cut into fine julienne
- Celery Root (Celeriac) - 4 slices, cut into fine julienne
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Bibb lettuce - 8, small pieces
- Mache - 12 pieces
- Frisee - 4 pieces
- Tomato - 1 large, peeled, seeded, and diced small
- Fresh horseradish root - 2 inches, cut in fine julienne
- Chervil Sprigs - 4
Instructions
To prepare the trout: Reserve all trimmings as you work. Cut the heads and tails from the trout with a sharp boning knife. Trim off the fins. If necessary, slit the bellies and eviscerate the trout, discarding the entrails. Lay the knife on its side and cut the fillet from the bone along one side. Pick up the end of the backbone and lift it away to free the fillet on the other side. Repeat for all trout. Remove pin bones with tweezers. Wrap the fish in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To prepare the stock: Put the fish trimmings into a pot with the other stock ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-high and skim the foam that rises to the top. Boil 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside; keep warm.
To prepare the sauce: Bring all but 1 cup of the strained stock back to a boil; set the remaining stock aside. Add the cream and lemon juice; lower the heat to medium and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract all the flavor. Discard the solids. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.
To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk all ingredients together in a non-aluminum bowl.
To prepare the salad: Toss the julienned vegetables with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Toss the greens separately with vinaigrette. Toss the tomato dice separately with vinaigrette.
To finish the trout: Bring the reserved cup of stock to a low boil in a saucepan and place a bamboo steamer on top. Lay the trout fillets in the steamer, cover, and steam 2 to 3 minutes, until warmed through. Lift the skin away from the fillets and discard.
To serve: Scatter assorted greens over each chilled salad plate. Put two small mounds of julienned vegetables on opposite sides of each plate. Scatter tomato dice beside the vegetables. Lay two pieces of trout on each plate. Blend the sauce with a stick blender or whisk briskly, then spoon sauce around the trout fillets and greens. Sprinkle the salads with horseradish julienne and garnish each with a sprig of chervil.
