Cured trout tartare with apple and nori
- Published: 27 Oct 23
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Cured trout tartare is a simple, relatively effortless starter. Curing your own trout might sound daunting, but all it takes is a bit of time and know-how. The results are astounding and unlike anything you can buy in the shops.
You might also like these moreish spinach and smoked trout roulades.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 4 juniper berries
- 5g crispy nori seaweed (see Know How)
- 40g sea salt flakes
- 20g caster sugar
- Finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 400g fresh trout fillet, skin on, pin boned
For the tartare
- 15g capers
- 1 granny smith apple
- 10g dill
- 80g crème fraîche
- Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
- 1 sheet crispy nori seaweed, broken into small pieces
You’ll also need
- 8cm ring (optional)
Method
- Begin by curing the trout for 8-12 hours. Grind the fennel seeds, peppercorns and juniper with a pestle and mortar until fine, then add in the nori and sea salt and grind until coarse. Stir in the sugar and lemon zest.
- Sprinkle a third of the mixture into a non-reactive dish and spread out to the shape and size of your trout, then lay the fish skin-side down on top and sprinkle over the rest of the cure. Pat down to cover the whole thing, then cover (I use a chopping board) and put in the fridge for 8-12 hours.
- Run the fish under cold water to wash off the cure, then slice off and discard the skin. The edge slices may be a little too salty, so taste first and remove if necessary. Dice the trout into roughly 1cm cubes and put in a bowl. Roughly chop the capers, peel, core and finely dice the apple and chop the dill, then stir them all into the trout along with the crème fraiche and lemon zest (reserve a little diced apple and dill to garnish). Stir again, then taste and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Divide the mixture among 4 small plates, using a metal ring for a neater finish if you like. Top with the reserved apple and dill, and pieces of crispy seaweed.
- Recipe from November 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 241kcals
- Fat
- 14g (6.7g saturated)
- Protein
- 21g
- Carbohydrates
- 6.8g (6.1g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.1g
- Salt
- 3g
delicious. tips
It’s essential you use the freshest trout you can get your hands on, as it’s only lightly cured – so it won’t be as well preserved or as heavily flavoured as something like smoked salmon.
It’s important to use a non-reactive container to cure the fish in – go for plastic, ceramic or glass, as metals can react with the curing process and taint the flavour.
The nori used in this dish can be found in the snack aisle – it’s the crispy salted nori sheets rather than the larger, softer ones used to make sushi. We used Itsu crispy seaweed thins.
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Absolutely delicious! I served it in one dish with toasted sourdough and it got many compliments