Cider-roasted rainbow trout with kaiserfleisch, apple, fennel and lemon

Name: Cider-roasted rainbow trout with kaiserfleisch, apple, fennel and lemon
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 100g smoked kaiserfleisch, finely diced, plus 4 thin slices; 2 eschalots, sliced into thin rounds; 2 large garlic cloves, sliced; 1 large fennel bulb, finely sliced, fronds picked; 2 tsp fennel seeds; extra virgin olive oil; 2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced, 1 sliced in rounds; salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper; 6 apples – 2 cut into rings with seeds in and stalks attached, 4 peeled, cored and cut into 8; 150ml organic apple cider; 150ml quality chicken stock; 2 fresh bay leaves; 4 x 350g whole rainbow trout, boned and butterflied, head on; 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley; 50g butter

Karen Martini

September 23, 2014

Cider-roasted rainbow trout with kaiserfleisch, lemon and fennel.Supplied

Time:1-2 hoursServes:4

Rainbow trout is quite a robustly flavoured fish, which works perfectly with the sweet apples, smoky kaiserfleisch and the fragrant lemon and anise notes of the fennel paste. This is also a simple and dramatic way to present beautiful whole fish without having to worry about the bones.

Ingredients

100g smoked kaiserfleisch, finely diced, plus 4 thin slices
2 eschalots, sliced into thin rounds
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 large fennel bulb, finely sliced, fronds picked
2 tsp fennel seeds
extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced, 1 sliced in rounds
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
6 apples – 2 cut into rings with seeds in and stalks attached, 4 peeled, cored and cut into 8
150ml organic apple cider
150ml quality chicken stock
2 fresh bay leaves
4 x 350g whole rainbow trout, boned and butterflied, head on
2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley
50g butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced or 220C conventional.
2. Cook the diced kaiserfleisch in a non-stick frying pan over high heat until it starts to crisp up. Add the eschalots, garlic, fennel, fennel seeds and a splash of oil and saute on medium heat for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are well caramelised. Add the lemon zest and juice, season and take off the heat. Stir through the fennel fronds. You should have an intensely fragrant caramelised paste. Set aside.
3. Spread the apple out in a large baking dish that will comfortably fit the fish. Add the cider, stock and bay leaves. Season lightly with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the oven grill on.
4. Meanwhile, open each of the trout out flat, season the flesh with salt and pepper and spoon in the fennel paste. Fold the fish back together, roughly stuff the heads with parsley and place on top of the apples. Drizzle with oil and lay a slice of kaiserfleisch over each fish. Dot the trout with butter and scatter over the lemon slices. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Serve the fish with the juices from the pan, some mashed potato and a simple leaf salad.
TIPS
1. Instead of kaiserfleisch you could use pancetta, guanciale or even lardo.
2. Make sure you cook out the fennel paste until it is well caramelised. It's important that it's concentrated and intensely flavoured, and you'll only need about one and a half tablespoons per fish.
3. Ask your fishmonger to debone and butterfly the fish while leaving the heads on, you could try this yourself but it can be tricky and it's easy to miss the fine bones.