Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Flaming, fabulous fare
The evolution of fired food reaches fever point this season as trends in exotic cuisine influences and entices a brand new audience
TUFFY Stone is not your typical chef.
Despite the fancy verbiage in Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue his approach is laudably down-to-earth. There are highbrow touches (dove breast, goose pastrami) and competition items (chicken thighs, ribs, pork butt). Pork loin is stuffed with kale and bacon. Chicken leg quarters are dressed with tarragon and Aleppo pepper. Herb-stuffed trout with savoury almond granola balances beautifully between simple campfire cooking and elegant dinnerparty fare.
Bill Kim, who cooked at Chicago’s groundbreaking Charlie Trotter and Philly’s celebrated Chinese fusion restaurant Susanna Foo, goes further into chef-barbecue territory, adding a welcome ingredient: his Korean background. Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces by Kim, with Chandra Ram, includes dishes such as kimchi salsa, gochujang salmon and the Mexican-Asian mash-up Korean Al Pastor. Kim dazzles with unfamiliar sauces and spice rubs.
Meanwhile, third-generation pitmaster Adrian Davila assembled engaging recipes that pay tribute to his Latin American heritage, such as smoked beef tongue, in-the-ground cooked beef head, and beef fajitas. His book is titled Cowboy Barbecue: Fire & Smoke from the Original Texas Vaqueros.
Susan Herrmann Loomis incorporates elements of Syrian (spiced lamb chops) and North African cooking (cod with chermoula), and more traditional French recipes (tomatoes provençale), in her book French Grill: 125 Refined & Rustic Recipes, which reflects past colonial rule and current immigration trends.
HERB-STUFFED TROUT WITH SAVOURY ALMOND GRANOLA
Adapted from Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue, by Tuffy Stone
Think of this as a rustic, smoky homage to the French classic trout amandine.
The original recipe called for head-on fish, which can be difficult to come by. If you find whole trout, you will need to butterfly it (keeping it together on one side), then spread a thin layer of the stuffing mixture on one interior surface before closing the fish together. Grill for 4 or 5 minutes on each side.
Make ahead: The savoury granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
For the granola:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (sweet or hot)
1 1/2 cups whole, skin-on, unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 large egg whites
For the fish:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 cups sliced leeks (halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into 0.6cm thick half-moons)
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon plus
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
About 1kg skin-on trout fillets (see headnote)
Juice of 1 lemon
For the granola: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
Stir together the melted butter, sugar, garlic, salt, chipotle powder and smoked paprika in a mixing bowl, until well combined. Add the almonds and oats, tossing to coat thoroughly.
Whisk the egg whites in a small bowl until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the almond-oat mixture until just combined. Spread the granola over the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.
Bake (middle rack) for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let the granola cool to room temperature on the baking sheet. The yield is about 2 to 1/2 cups.
For the fish: Melt 1tbs of the butter with the oil over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, shallots, garlic and thyme and cook, stirring often for 10 minutes, until the leeks are soft and translucent. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8tsp of the pepper.
Remove from the heat; fold in the chives and parsley. Discard the thyme sprigs. Cover loosely to keep warm while you grill the fish.
Place the trout fillets skin-sides down on a rimmed baking sheet.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and brush the flesh of the trout with half the melted butter, then dust with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Carefully turn and brush each fillet on the opposite side with the remaining butter, and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Prepare the grill for direct heat. If using a gas grill, preheat to mediumhigh (about 400 degrees). If using a charcoal grill it should be ready when you can place your hand about 15cm over the grates for 4 to 5 seconds without pulling it away.
Spray the grill grates with cooking oil spray. Working in batches as needed, place each trout fillet directly on the grill. Close the lid and cook for 3 minutes.
Use two metal spatulas to carefully turn them. Close the lid again and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the flesh is opaque. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Spoon the filling mixture over the top. Sprinkle the granola over the trout and serve right away.