Smoked trout with sorrel cream and burnt-butter emulsion

SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 1 HR 30 MINS (PLUS CHILLING, COOLING, STANDING)

“I grew up in a little town called Balingup in Western Australia. There’s a beautiful little brook which flows through the town, and one of our favourite pastimes was going fishing there with my father. That’s where the inspiration for this dish came from. When you were seven years old, it was a prize thing to catch a rainbow trout. My dad would light a fire near the brook, gut and butterfly the fish and rub some salt into it. We’d get a Y-shaped stick and lay the fish on it over jarrah embers so it would slowly cook and smoke. Then we’d just peel the skin off and eat it with our hands with a bit of lemon. It was absolutely delicious.

“Growing up in the country, we had a pretty alternative lifestyle – we lived in a commune. Sustainability is a bit of a trend now, but we always had a vegie garden, we foraged for wild mushrooms and berries, and my parents showed me how to preserve vegies and make our own tofu. We’d barter with our neighbours, trading some vegies for a lamb leg. We had communal potluckstyle dinners where everyone would cook and bring something. There was a really good sense of community and belonging. The respect for the environment the community had has flowed into my cooking ethos today.

“I’ve always had an urge to be more connected with my producers. When I was younger, working in kitchens in big cities, you’d order something and it would turn up – the chefs didn’t necessarily educate you on where it came from. That’s all changing now – having a greater understanding of where something comes from is paramount. Now this understanding is trickling down – diners don’t want to go to a restaurant and see asparagus on the menu in the middle of winter.

“My mum and brothers have come to dine at

Hearth and they see a lot of things that represent my childhood, from a dish inspired by eggs my mum used to make me for breakfast, right through to this smoked trout, based on those formative fishing adventures.”

200 gm salt flakes

2 rainbow trout, filleted, pin-boned

Olive oil, for greasing 2 cups pink lady apple woodchips (see note) 125 gm (½ cup) clarified butter or ghee BURNT-BUTTER EMULSION 200 gm butter 2 eggs 1 tbsp lemon juice

SORREL CREAM 2 tbsp butter 1 golden shallot, finely chopped 90 gm button mushrooms, coarsely chopped 30 ml dry vermouth 250 ml dry white wine 250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream 1 tbsp katsuobushi (see note) 1 tsp dashi powder (see note) 4 sorrel leaves, plus extra to serve 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp red yuzu kosho

(see note) 1 tsp fish sauce

1 Spread half the salt over the base of a baking dish. Lay trout fillets flat, not touching, over salt in a single layer. Cover evenly with remaining salt. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Lightly grease a wire rack and lay trout on rack in a single layer, skin-side down and not touching. Place woodchips on a baking tray on the stove or heatproof surface. Use a blowtorch to set chips alight until smoking. Set wire rack over woodchips, cover with a second tray and set aside to gently cold smoke (30 minutes; alternatively, smoke trout on a covered charcoal barbecue).

2 For burnt-butter emulsion, cook butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming and nut-brown (4-5 minutes). Pour into a heatproof jug and cool to 60°C (10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, cook eggs in a saucepan of boiling water until soft-boiled (51/2-6 minutes), then refresh in iced water. Peel eggs, place in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, gradually add brown butter until emulsified. Season to taste with lemon juice, white pepper and salt. Cover and set aside in a warm place. (If emulsion gets too cold it will solidify.

Place over a saucepan of warm water and stir to soften.)

3 For sorrel cream, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add shallot and mushroom and cook, stirring, until soft but not coloured

(3-4 minutes). Add vermouth and deglaze pan, scraping base, then reduce until almost dry and all alcohol evaporates (1 minute). Add wine and reduce to a glaze (5-6 minutes). Add cream, katsuobushi and dashi, reduce heat to low and cook until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon (8 minutes). Add sorrel and leave to infuse (2 minutes; see note). Strain through a sieve. Season with lemon juice, yuzu kosho and fish sauce. Keep warm.

4 Place clarified butter in a large frying pan over lowmedium heat. Add smoked trout, skin-side down, and cook, spooning over butter, until just cooked (2-3 minutes). Remove trout from pan and peel and discard skin. Season to taste with salt flakes.

5 To serve, spoon sorrel cream onto plates. Top with trout and serve with burnt-butter emulsion and sorrel leaves.

Note Pink lady apple woodchips are available from Bunnings Warehouse. If unavailable, substitute other woodchips, also available from Bunnings. Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), dashi powder and yuzu kosho are available from select Asian supermarkets. At Hearth, they grill the sorrel cream briefly with a hot coal placed on top.