King Trout’s Mummy

To make the fried garnish: Trim large stems from the parsley. Wash and completely dry the leaves. In a deep saucepan over high heat, preheat the oil to 365 F. With a slotted spoon, immerse the parsley in the oil; be careful of splatters and steam. Fry for 1 minute, then remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, set aside, and keep warm.

To prepare the trout: Trim the roots and tops of the leeks. Slit the leeks lengthwise and submerge them in water to remove all traces of sand. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the leeks and onions. Cook to remove as much of the water as possible; you want it to be fairly dry to keep the phyllo dry. When the water has been cooked off, add the Ricard, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and reserve.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Cut two sheets of phyllo in half. Brush one of the halves with clarified butter. Cover with the other half sheet of phyllo and again brush with butter. Repeat the process until you have four stacks of phyllo, each with four buttered sheets. Trim the trout fillets to about 8-ounce pieces and sprinkle with salt. Place a fillet in the center of each phyllo stack. Spoon the leek and onion mixture onto the fillets. Fold two sides of the phyllo sheets up. Trim the ends of the phyllo so that there is about an inch of phyllo beyond the ends of each fillet. Fold the phyllo ends up and turn over so that the leek/onion mixture is at the bottom, encased in phyllo. Brush the packets, or mummies, with butter. Place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake 15 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and the fish flakes easily (times vary with the thickness of the fish).

To make the beurre blanc: Place the grapefruit zest, shallot, and wine in a saucepan over high heat to reduce. Remove the membrane from the grapefruit sections, making supremes. Squeeze about 1/2 cup of juice and add it to the reducing wine. Moving the pan on and off the heat as necessary, whisk in the butter, a little at a time, until incorporated. If yellow melted butter streaks appear in the sauce, take it off the heat and quickly whisk in several pieces of cold butter until the sauce recombines. Whisk in the Ricard. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Set aside and keep warm over warm water or in an insulated container. Warm the grapefruit supremes slightly in the pan used to make the beurre blanc.

To serve: Place a trout mummy in the center of each plate. Place grapefruit wedges along the long sides of the mummies. Place fried parsley at the ends of each. Spoon beurre blanc over the grapefruit.