(makes 4 servings)
- 2 whole Rushing Waters trout, clear cut, scaled
- 6 sprigs parsley
- 6 sprigs basil
- 3 sprigs mint
- 3 parsnips
- 3 carrots
- 1 small celery root
- 6 baby beets
- 5 ramps, sliced thin
- 2 T raw wild rice
- 1 C canola oil
- 5 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T sherry vinegar
- 2 T raw sugar
- 1/2 C white wine
Method:
Prepare the trout: With a slightly moistened towel, gently wipe both sides of the fillets to discard any remaining scales, or pin bones. If still connected, separate the two fillets, removing any fins, the head, tail and refrigerate on a plate wrapped in plastic. Place the beets whole in a pan, wrapped in foil with salt, one of each herb sprig, 2 T olive oil and 3 cups of water. Roast at 350 for 1 hour until softened. Peel by rubbing off skin with a paper towel, cut each beet into quarters, set aside.
Peel the carrots, parsnips, and celery root. The celery root with a paring knife, others with a peeler. Cut the celery root and parsnip slightly smaller than the carrots, as they take longer to cook, a rough chop is fine. Mix the three with 2T olive oil, salt pepper, and roast on a sheet pan for 20 to 30 minutes until softened and slightly browned.
Puff the wild rice and make the gastrique glaze: Place a saucepan on high heat with the canola oil. When it reaches close to 400 degrees, it will slowly start to smoke, carefully drop in the raw wild rice, swirl and immediately dump out through a fine strainer into another pot. Rice should puff on contact, sprinkle salt, remove any unpuffed rice and let drip dry. In a large skillet, saute the carrot, parsnip, celery root, and beets. After a minute add the sugar and sherry vinegar, let caramelize and glaze the vegetables. Add all of the chopped herbs, and puffed rice.
Season the trout with salt and pepper, skin side down in a hot saute pan with 1 T canola, pressing fish gently, to crisp the skin. Drop heat to medium low after 20 seconds and cook for another 2 minutes, flip and another 30 seconds and remove from pan. Dump excess oil from pan, and add ramps, continuing to cook on medium low heat for 3 minutes. Add a splash of dry white wine, pinch of chili flakes and a tablespoon of olive oil, shake vigorously to emulsify.
Plate up: Spoon vegetables onto plates, and top with the crispy skin trout, spoon on and around the plate with the ramp pan sauce, enjoy!
