Cured trout tartare with apple and nori

Method

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.