Trout En Croute With Sorrel Sauce Recipes

CRISPY TROUT WITH KITCHEN BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• If it's convenient, set the serving plates to warm in a low oven (175 degrees F) as you prepare the fish.
• For the sauce, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme and cook them briefly until lightly browned. Add the cream, bring it to a boil and reduce quickly by half. Add the remaining 10 tablespoons butter gradually, pat by pat, whisking until incorporated. When the sauce is smooth and thick, discard the garlic and thyme and add the chives, sherry vinegar, tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat two large cast-iron skillets over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and dust the skin sides with the flour. When the pans are hot, add enough canola oil to thinly coat the bottom of each and add a fish to each pan, skin-side down. Cook until the skins turn golden brown and opaque doneness creeps into the pink flesh of the fish. You want to cook the fish nearly all the way through on the skin side. Flip the fish and transfer them to a plate to keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining fish.
• Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of sauce onto each warm plate, top with a trout, skin side pointing up, and serve immediately.

TROUT EN CROUTE WITH SORREL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Season cavities and surface of fish with salt. Place 1 pastry sheet flat on a work surface, and arrange 2 trout side by side, 2 inches apart, on top. With a paring knife, cut out an oval of pastry around each fish, with about 1/2-inch border on sides, leaving heads and tails sticking out from pointed ends of oval. Repeat with remaining pastry and fish. Set fish aside. Use knife to score pastry ovals in a crosshatch pattern.
• Generously oil 2 rimmed baking sheets. Arrange 2 trout on each sheet, then place ovals over trout. Brush tops of pastry with egg. Bake, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through, until pastry is golden brown and fish are cooked through, 20 to 22 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine sorrel, mint, capers, and oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a bowl; fold in creme fraiche.
• Spread 1/4 cup sorrel sauce on each of 4 plates. Place a fish on top of sauce. Serve immediately, with remaining sauce alongside.

THE ULTIMATE MAKEOVER: SALMON EN CROûTE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Tip in the shallots and fry for 2-3 mins to soften, then add the mushrooms and garlic, and stir-fry over a high heat for another 3-4 mins, or until the mushrooms and shallots are golden and any liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Pour in the lemon juice - after a few seconds, that should have evaporated too. Remove from the heat, then stir in the watercress so it wilts in the warmth from the pan (see step 1). Stir in the dill and chives, and season with a little salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. When the mushroom mix is cool, stir in the crème fraîche. Lay one of the filo sheets on the worktop with the short end facing you. Brush all over with a little of the remaining oil. Layer up 4 more of the filo sheets in the same way, brushing each with a little of the oil.
• Lay one of the salmon fillets, skin-side up, across the width of the filo, positioning it about one-third of the way up. Season it with pepper. Spoon and spread the cooled mushroom mix over the top of the fillet (see step 2). Lay the other salmon fillet on top, skin-side down. Season again. Fold the short end of pastry nearest to you over the salmon, then bring the other end over to completely enclose the salmon (see step 3), lifting it so the join can tuck under it. Fold both pastry ends over as neatly as you can.
• Brush the outside with a bit more of the remaining oil. Scrunch up the last sheet of filo, pressing it lightly on top in big folds (see step 4), then carefully brush with the last of the oil. Can be prepared 3-4 hrs ahead up to this point and chilled. Transfer the salmon parcel to the baking sheet. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Check while it cooks and if the top starts to brown too quickly, lay a sheet of foil very loosely over it. Remove from the oven and let the salmon sit for 2-3 mins before slicing.

GORDON RAMSAY'S SALMON EN CROûTE RECIPE

Steps:

• Check the salmon for pin bones, removing any that you find with tweezers, then cut in half. Line a baking tray with a lightly oiled piece of foil.
• Mix the softened butter with the lemon zest, basil, dill and some salt and pepper in a bowl, to make the filling.
• Pat the salmon fillets dry with kitchen paper, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread the herb butter over one fillet, on the boned side, and the mustard evenly on the other fillet. Sandwich the two salmon fillets together, in opposite directions so both ends are of an even thickness.
• Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle, the thickness of a £1 coin and large enough to enclose the salmon. Put the salmon parcel in the centre of the pastry and brush the surrounding pastry with egg. Bring up the edges, trimming off any excess, and tuck them in before folding the rest of the pastry over to form a neat parcel. Carefully turn the whole thing over so that the seam is underneath and place on the prepared baking tray.
• Brush the pastry with beaten egg. Lightly score a herringbone or cross-hatch pattern using the back of a knife. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover loosely and chill for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
• Bake the salmon for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. To test if ready, insert a skewer into the middle. It should feel warm for medium cooked salmon. A piping hot skewer indicates that the fish is well done.
• Rest the salmon for 5 minutes, then cut into portions using a serrated knife. Serve with hollandaise sauce, new potatoes and broccoli or minted peas.