Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2020 (1)

JedGerrard

Hearth, Perth, WA

200 gmsaltflakes

2 rainbowtrout,

filleted,pin-boned

Oliveoil,forgreasing

2 cupspinkladyapple

woodchips(seenote)

125 gm(½cup)clarified

butterorghee

BURNT-BUTTER EMULSION

200 gmbutter

2 eggs

1 tbsplemonjuice

SORRELCREAM

2 tbspbutter

1 goldenshallot,finely

chopped

90 gmbuttonmushrooms,

coarselychopped

30 mldryvermouth

250 mldrywhitewine

250 ml(1cup)pouringcream

1 tbspkatsuobushi(seenote)

1 tspdashipowder(seenote)

4 sorrelleaves,plusextra

toserve

1 tbsplemonjuice

1 tspredyuzukosho

(seenote)

1 tspfishsauce

1 Spreadhalfthesaltoverthe

baseofa bakingdish.Laytrout

filletsflat,nottouching,oversalt

in a singlelayer.Coverevenly

withremainingsalt.Refrigerate

for 15 minutes,thenrinse

thoroughlyundercoldrunning

waterandpatdrywithpaper

towel.Lightlygreasea wirerack

andlaytroutonrackin a single

layer,skin-sidedownandnot

touching.Placewoodchips

ona bakingtrayonthestove

orheatproofsurface.Usea

blowtorchtosetchipsalight

untilsmoking.Setwirerack

overwoodchips,coverwitha

secondtrayandsetasideto

gentlycoldsmoke(30minutes;

alternatively,smoketroutona

coveredcharcoalbarbecue).

2 Forburnt-butteremulsion,

cookbutterin a saucepan

overmediumheatuntilfoaming

andnut-brown(4-5minutes).

Pourintoa heatproofjugand

coolto60°C(10-15minutes).

Meanwhile, cook eggs in a

saucepanofboilingwater

untilsoft-boiled(51/2-6minutes),

thenrefreshin icedwater.Peel

eggs,placein a foodprocessor

orblenderandprocessuntil

smooth.Withthemotorrunning,

graduallyaddbrownbutter

untilemulsified.Seasontotaste

withlemonjuice,whitepepper

andsalt.Coverandsetaside

in a warmplace.(If emulsion

getstoocoldit willsolidify.

Placeovera saucepanof

warmwaterandstirtosoften.)

3 Forsorrelcream,heatbutter

in a saucepanovermediumheat

untilfoaming.Addshallotand

mushroomandcook,stirring,

untilsoftbutnotcoloured

(3-4minutes).Addvermouth

anddeglazepan,scrapingbase,

thenreduceuntilalmostdry

andallalcoholevaporates

(1 minute).Addwineandreduce

toa glaze(5-6minutes).Add

cream,katsuobushianddashi,

reduceheattolowandcook

untilsaucethickensandcoats

thebackofa spoon(8minutes).

Addsorrelandleavetoinfuse

(2minutes;seenote).Strain

througha sieve.Seasonwith

lemonjuice,yuzukosho

andfishsauce.Keepwarm.

4 Placeclarifiedbutterin

a largefryingpanoverlow-

mediumheat.Addsmoked

trout,skin-sidedown,and

cook,spooningoverbutter,

untiljustcooked(2-3minutes).

Removetroutfrompanand

peelanddiscardskin.Season

totastewithsaltflakes.

5 Toserve,spoonsorrelcream

ontoplates.Topwithtroutand

servewithburnt-butteremulsion

andsorrelleaves.

NotePinkladyapplewoodchips

areavailablefromBunnings

Warehouse.If unavailable,

substituteotherwoodchips,

alsoavailablefromBunnings.

Katsuobushi(driedbonito

flakes),dashipowderandyuzu

koshoareavailablefromselect

Asiansupermarkets.AtHearth,

theygrillthesorrelcreambriefly

with a hot coal placed on top.➤

GOURMET TRAVELLER 99

Smokedtroutwithsorrelcream

andburnt-butteremulsion

SERVES4 // PREPTIME 20 MINS// COOK1 HR 30 MINS

(PLUSCHILLING,COOLING,STANDING)

“I grewupina littletowncalledBalingupinWestern

Australia.There’sa beautifullittlebrookwhichflows

throughthetown,andoneofourfavouritepastimes

wasgoingfishingtherewithmyfather.That’swhere

theinspirationforthisdishcamefrom.Whenyouwere

sevenyearsold,it wasa prizethingtocatcha rainbow

trout.Mydadwouldlighta firenearthebrook,gutand

butterflythefishandrubsomesaltintoit.We’dgeta

Y-shapedstickandlaythefishonit overjarrahembers

soit wouldslowlycookandsmoke.Thenwe’djust

peeltheskinoffandeatit withourhandswitha bit

oflemon.It wasabsolutelydelicious.

“Growingupinthecountry,wehada prettyalternative

lifestyle– welivedina commune.Sustainabilityis a bit

ofa trendnow,butwealwayshada vegiegarden,we

foragedforwildmushroomsandberries,andmyparents

showedmehowtopreservevegiesandmakeourown

tofu.We’dbarterwithourneighbours,tradingsome

vegiesfora lambleg.Wehadcommunalpotluck-

styledinnerswhereeveryonewouldcookandbring

something.Therewasa reallygoodsenseofcommunity

andbelonging.Therespectfortheenvironmentthe

communityhadhasflowedintomycookingethostoday.

“I’vealwayshadanurgetobemoreconnectedwith

myproducers.WhenI wasyounger,workinginkitchens

inbigcities,you’dordersomethingandit wouldturn

up– thechefsdidn’tnecessarilyeducateyouon

whereit camefrom.That’sallchangingnow– having

a greaterunderstandingofwheresomethingcomes

fromis paramount.Nowthisunderstandingis trickling

down– dinersdon’twanttogotoa restaurantand

seeasparagusonthemenuinthemiddleofwinter.

“Mymumandbrothershavecometodineat

Hearthandtheyseea lotofthingsthatrepresentmy

childhood,froma dishinspiredbyeggsmymumused

tomakemeforbreakfast,rightthroughtothissmoked

INTERVIEW JORDAN KRETCHMER. PHOTOGRAPHY JASON LOUCAS/BAUER SYNDICATIONS (PORTRAIT).trout, based on those formative fishing adventures.”