Starter:
Trout Mousse with Balsamic Beetroot and Wasabi Cream
(Paul Warren)

For those of you that have not had the pleasure of watching BRITAINS BEST DISH on ITV you will have missed some wonderful recipes. However, one of the superb starters was a Trout Moose produced by contestant Paul Warren which I can highly recommend, having tried it out using Powdermill rainbows. Although he used sea trout, which I must say have a superior flavour, the use of rainbow trout in this recipe will not detract from the overall result.


INGREDIENTS
• 1 large sea trout (approx. 1kg) or 2 smaller ones
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 free range eggs
• 200g cream cheese
• 284 ml carton of single cream
• 2 lemons, juiced
• White peppercorns
• Sea salt
• ¼ pack of butter, for greasing
• 1 large beetroot
• Generous drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tube Japanese wasabi paste - (use sparingly to taste)
• 1 large tub of crème fraîche
• Home made white bread
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Rocket leaves
• Frisee - (A large curly leaved endive with a clean bitter flavour. Loose open heads with yellow centres and dark green outer leaves.)


JOHN AND ED’S MASTER CLASS WITH PAUL
John and Ed thought that Paul could improve the taste and texture of his mousse by firstly removing the “bloodline” or grey flesh from the cooked trout. John said it was bitter and the dish would be better with out it. Secondly, they thought the texture would be better if he flaked the fish into larger chunks instead of blitzing it in a blender. They changed the mould to a taller mould and added a little frisee and rocket on top of the mousse to add height for the final presentation.


METHOD
1. Place the trout in a baking tin, season, place a couple of bay leaves on top then cover with foil and put in oven for 30 minutes.

2. For the mousse, add an egg yolk, cream cheese, cream and lemon juice rest of mousse ingredients to blender and blitz.

3. Once cooked, remove the trout from oven. Remove the grey flesh and flake the pink flesh. Add to the mousse mixture and fold through.

4. Spoon the mousse into buttered mould, top with buttered greaseproof paper rounds and place in a bain marie, (a roasting tray filled with enough water to come about half way up the ramekins and place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius).

5. For the balsamic beetroot, slice beetroot into match stick shapes (julienne) and boil in pan until soft.

6. Drain then return to the pan and add balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil and reduce until syrupy.

7. Remove the ramekins from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

8. Toast bread slices and rub with a garlic clove.

9. For the wasabi cream, mix together the crème fraîche, wasabi paste and lemon juice to taste.

10. Turn out the mousse onto a plate and top with a few frisee and rocket leaves. Spoon the wasabi sauce around and arrange some balsamic beetroot and garlic toast on the side.

ENJOY!