Beetroot cured ocean trout, crisp potato pancakes and herb labneh
Preparation
24 HRS
Cook time
20 MIN
Serves
5
Cost
$$$
Truly a festive dish to remember – a delightful layering of flavours with wow factor in every bite. The charmingly pink stained trout brings both an earthiness from the beetroots and a complementary zing from the gin and lemon, perfectly paired with golden crispy potato cakes, a dollop of creamy herby labneh, crowned with salmon pearls. For absolute perfection add a crisp glass of prosecco.
Ingredients
Cured trout
- 2 large (600g) beetroots, coarsely grated
- 300g sugar
- 300g rock salt
- 70ml gin
- 2 lemons, zested
- 10g fennel seeds, toasted until they pop and are fragrant, lightly crushed
- 500g ocean trout or salmon without skin
Labneh (makes about 14 balls)
- 300g pot set Greek yoghurt
- 1/2 cup tightly packed herb leaves – mint, parsley, dill
- 80ml fruity extra virgin olive oil
Crispy potato cakes
- 500g sebago (or any dry potato that is good for roasting) potatoes, peeled
- 30g cornflour
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil for frying
To serve
- Salmon pearls
- 170276 Bottega Vino Dei Poeti Prosecco Doc
Method
- To cure the trout, put the beetroot, sugar, salt, gin, lemon zest and crushed fennel seeds into a large bowl and mix until well combined. In a baking tray or tub (size depending on the size of your fish) spread half the beetroot mixture, lay the fish on top and cover completely with the remaining beetroot. Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 24 hours. When the trout has finished curing, remove from the beetroot mixture, gently wiping off any excess and pat dry. Wrap and refrigerate until needed. To serve, using a very sharp knife, cut the thinnest slices you can manage.
- To make the labneh, line a fine mesh sieve with 2 layers of paper towel and top with a new chux or 2 layers of fine cooking muslin. Sit snuggly over a bowl, making sure the base of the sieve is not touching the base. Spoon in the yoghurt and spread around the lined sieve. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 24 hours. Check the progress after about 12 hours, turning the yoghurt over to make sure that all excess moisture is drawn from the yoghurt, leaving you with a dense curd. Take approximately 15g pieces and, working quickly, roll into balls. Spread the chopped herbs over a plate or tray and roll the labneh balls through the herbs to coat, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- Grate the peeled potatoes with a medium grater, put the grated potato into a clean cloth and squeeze out all excess moisture. Put the squeezed potato into a bowl, add the cornflour, paprika and generously season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix to combine.
- To make the potato cakes, heat a heavy based frying pan over a medium heat, coat the base of the pan in a thin layer of olive oil. Put heaped tablespoons (about 20 - 30g) of the potato into the pan, flattening with a spatula as they cook, cook for 2 - 3 minutes each side until crispy golden and cooked through. For a breakfast dish you can make larger potato cakes the same way using a half cup measure.
- Top potato cakes with labneh, a rosette of trout and a scatter of salmon pearls. Serve with a crisp glass of prosecco.
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