Aishling Moore: Jazz up your toast with this smoked trout recipe

Pickled fennel makes for the perfect accompaniment to this rillette, its brightness cutting through the fat and smoke

Aishling Moore: Smoked trout rillette with pickled fennel. Picture: Chani Anderson

I was very generously gifted a whole smoked wild brown trout this summer by Brigitta Hedin-Curtin of the Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvara, Co Clare.

Having not encountered a wild trout in some time, I was very excited to have this slender, hot-smoked fish in my fridge, and couldn’t decide how best to do justice to this wonderful product.

In the early years of Goldie, there were a handful of occasions where we were lucky enough to receive a couple of boxes of shimmering wild sea trout. I recall one fortnight when it was particularly abundant.

It is only when you are dealing in the tens of kilos of a fish that you truly understand the culinary
potential of said animal.

The tails of the fish were cu+red overnight in a salt and sugar solution, sliced wafer-thin and served with pickled vegetables — gravadlax style.

We had a go at hot smoking, first salting the bellies (the fattiest part of the fish) before smoking over the burning embers of Irish oak. The smoked fish was then cooled, flaked, dressed very simply with herbs, lemon, and mayonnaise, and smeared over a warm buckwheat blini served with some beetroot kraut.

The collars were prepped, then glazed in sticky and umami teriyaki solution to be eaten with hands, like chicken wings.

The prime fillet was served as simply as possible with crisped skin and an acidulated salsa of herbs and tomatoes.

On this occasion, I wanted to allow the mastery of the handling and smoking to shine through, so I’ve kept things very straightforward, dressing the
blushing pink flesh with a lactic hit of creme fraiche, a touch of mayonnaise, and some briny capers and diced gherkin.

Smoked trout rillette with pickled fennel

recipe by:Aishling Moore

If using a whole trout for this recipe, be mindful of bones when removing the smoked fish from the frame. I find it best to flake the fish as you pick it to ensure you don’t find any bones in the final product.

Servings

4

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the smoked trout rillette

• 200g hot smoked trout

• 100g crème fraiche

• 1 tbsp mayonnaise

• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 small gherkin

• ¼ tsp of capers, drained

• Fine sea salt

• For the pickled fennel

• 1 bulb of fennel

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 140ml apple cider vinegar

• 140g caster sugar

• 140ml water

• Fine sea salt

• To serve

• 1 large baguette

• 1 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 2 sprigs dill

Method

1. Place the creme fraiche, mayonnaise, and wholegrain mustard in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix well to combine.

2. Finely dice the gherkin and capers and add to the dressing along with the lemon zest.

3. Add the picked smoked trout to the bowl and fold through carefully, keeping as many flakes of fish as intact as possible.

4. Taste to correct seasoning and refrigerate until serving.

5. For the pickled fennel

6. Place a small heavy-based pot on medium high heat. Add the black peppercorns and bay leaf and toast until fragrant.

7. Once fragrant, add the apple cider vinegar, water, caster sugar, and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.

8. Once the sugar is dissolved,remove from the heat and pass through a fine sieve.

9. Discard the bay leaf and black peppercorns, and allow the pickle liquor to cool.

10. While that is cooling, prepare the fennel. Shave the fennel into wafer thin pieces using a mandolin or a speed peeler, avoiding the tougher core as you go.

11. Place in a non-reactive container or dish and once the pickle liquor has cooled, pour over.

12. Allow to sit for at least 30minutes before serving.

13. To serve

14. Pre-heat oven to 180˚C.

15. Slice the baguette into rounds, place on a tray, and drizzle with golden rapeseed oil.

16. Bake in the oven until golden brown and crisp.

17. Drain the fennel from the pickle liquor and place in a small bowl. Finely chop the dill and add to the fennel, mix to coat.

18. Place a tablespoon of the smoked trout rillette on each of the toasts and top with some pickled fennel.

Fish tales

You can use cold smoked trout instead of hot smoked trout for this recipe. If using cold smoked trout, finely dice the trout using a very sharp knife or pulse a couple of times in a food processor.

This rillette recipe is also great with hot smoked mackerel, tinned mackerel or tinned trout.

For a vibrant crunchy pickle it’s important to allow the pickling liquor to cool before pouring over the shaved fennel.

Swap apple cider vinegar for rice wine or white wine vinegar.