Grilled Pancetta Wrapped Trout With Verjus Crushed Grapes And Fennel Gratin Recipes

GRILLED PANCETTA-WRAPPED TROUT WITH VERJUS, CRUSHED GRAPES, AND FENNEL GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, and when it foams, stir in the red onion. Add the thyme, a healthy pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Sauté about 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the sorrel to the pan, and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the cream, and cook, stirring continuously, about 3 minutes, as the cream reduces and coats the onions. Taste for seasoning, and transfer to a plate to cool completely.
• Lay the trout, skin side down, on a cutting board, open like a book. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and spread the sorrel onions on one side of each fish. Fold the fish back together, and wrap each trout with a piece of pancetta, spiraling the meat around the fish like the stripe on a candy cane. Refrigerate the fish until 15 minutes before cooking.
• Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before cooking.
• Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, pound the grapes until they're partially crushed. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, the parsley, a healthy pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper.
• When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the trout with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the trout 3 to 4 minutes on each side, rotating the fish a quarter-turn after a couple of minutes, to get the skin crispy.
• Scatter the watercress on a large platter, and place the trout on top. Spoon the warm verjus sauce over the fish, and top with the crushed grapes. Serve the fennel gratin at the table.
• Place the grapes, shallot, and verjus in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by three-quarters. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm.
• Transfer to a blender, and, with the motor running, add the cold butter a little at a time, blending until the butter is just incorporated. Taste for seasoning, and add a little lemon juice, a pinch of pepper, and more salt if you like. Return the sauce to the pan, cover, and keep in a warm place. Reheat just before serving.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Toast the fennel seeds in a small saucepan over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, until they release their aroma and are a light gold color. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the seeds coarsely.
• Trim the root end of the fennel, cut the stalks off where they meet the bulb, and peel off any outer layers that are brown or bruised. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise, leaving the core intact. Place the halves, cut side down, on a cutting board, and slice the fennel thinly lengthwise. You should have about 6 cups of sliced fennel.
• Toss the fennel in a large bowl with the onion, thyme, bay leaves, fennel fronds, fennel seeds, and 1/3 cup olive oil. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of pepper.
• Slice the potatoes on a mandoline into 1/16-inch-thick slices. Toss the potatoes in a medium bowl with the cream and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Add the potatoes and parsley to the fennel, scraping all the cream into the bowl. Toss well to combine, and taste for seasoning.
• Arrange one layer of potato slices in the pan, overlapping them slightly, on the bottom of a gratin dish. (For this recipe, I like to use a copper or black iron dish, so the potatoes get extra crisp.)
• Toss the remaining fennel-potato mixture again, and arrange it over the layer of potatoes. Pour all the remaining creamy juices over the top. Bake about 45 minutes, until the potato is cooked and the fennel is golden and slightly crispy on top.
• You can stuff and wrap the fish the morning before you plan to grill it. Both the fennel gratin and the verjus sauce can also be prepared ahead of time and reheated before serving.

GRILLED CAMPFIRE TROUT DINNER

Steps:

• Cook bacon until partially cooked but not crisp; drain. Place each trout on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 20x18 in.). Place lemon and onion in the trout cavities; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap trout with bacon. Fold foil around trout and seal tightly., Place carrots on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 20x18 in.); sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dot with butter. Fold foil around carrots and seal tightly., Grill carrots, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add trout packets to grill; cook 20-25 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork and carrots are tender. Serve with lemon wedges.

GRILL-ROASTED WHOLE FISH STUFFED WITH FRESH HERBS AND WRAPPED IN PANCETTA

Steps:

• Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium Heat
• Rinse fish and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper inside and out. Place fresh herbs inside cavity of fish. Lightly oil both sides of fish. Wrap seasoned, oiled fish with pancetta or bacon that is thinly sliced and unrolled. Wrap fish loosely, mummy-style, with the pancetta, leaving head and tail exposed.
• Place fish in center of cooking grate. Cook until opaque, but still moist in thickest part (10 to 15 minutes). Remove from grill.
• Place fish onto platter and serve immediately.

GRILLED TROUT WITH GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Seafood Alternatives: small salmon, small bluefish, small Arctic char
• In a medium bowl, combine the cooked rice, lemon juice, olive oil and lemon zest with salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat a barbecue grill or preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Thoroughly rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
• Spoon the rice mixture into the cavity of each fish.
• Lay 6 grape leaves in a rectangle on the work surface, slightly overlapping so there are no large gaps.
• Set one of the trout on top and wrap the leaves up and over the fish.
• Lay another leaf or two on top of the fish if necessary to fully enclose it.
• If grilling, tie a few pieces of kitchen string around the fish to secure. Repeat with the second fish.
• Brush the grill with oil and cook until the fish is just opaque through (make a small slit through the leaves to check), 4 to 6 minutes on each side.
• Alternatively, put the fish in an oiled baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes.
• Discard the strings and serve.