Endive really complements broiled trout, especially when it’s caramelized. Serve with new potatoes, so you can enjoy the buttery juices that gather in the broiler pan and around the endive.
Serves 4
6 tbsp (85 g) butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill, plus 4 large sprigs for stuffing and a few small sprigs to garnish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 oz (30 g) sliced almonds
4 whole trout, each about 10 oz (300 g) with head and tail left on, gutted, cleaned, rinsed inside and out, dried, and small fins removed
2 small oranges: 1 cut into 8 thin slices and each slice halved; 1 cut into wedges, to garnish
3 small heads of Belgian endive, damaged outside leaves removed and quartered lengthwise
1⁄2 tsp granulated sugar
2–3 tbsp fresh orange juice
1. In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons (45 g) of the butter with the chopped dill. Season and set aside. Heat a small, nonstick frying pan until hot, pour in the almonds, and dry-fry over medium heat until golden all over, turning often. Remove from the heat and drop a quarter of the dill butter into the pan. Set aside.
2. Preheat the broiler. Remove the grid of the broiler pan and line the pan with foil. Cut slashes across one side of each trout. Spread the remaining dill butter over the tops and undersides. Lay the trout in the broiler pan, slashed-sides up, and stuff the cavities with the orange slices and large dill sprigs. Season. Broil the fish about 4in (10cm) from the heat. After 5–7 minutes, turn the fish over and broil for another 4–5 minutes. (See Moist flesh, crispy skin.)
3. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large, nonstick frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the endive, cut-sides up, sprinkle with the sugar, turn, and fry until the undersides start to brown. Reduce the heat slightly, then turn again and add 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Simmer until tender; add extra orange juice if needed. (See Sweet-tasting endive.)
4. Gently reheat the almond and dill butter mixture. Serve the trout slashed-side facing up, topped with the almonds, with the endive alongside and the juices drizzled over. Garnish with the orange wedges and small dill sprigs.
BROILED TROUT WITH ENDIVE AND ALMONDS
KEYS TO PERFECTION
Moist flesh, crispy skin
1 Make 3 or 4 long, diagonal slits in the flesh, 1⁄2in (1cm) deep, using a sharp knife. Spread dill butter over the top, into the slashes, and underneath. This will keep the trout moist and give more flavor.
2 It’s vital to preheat the broiler for at least 5 minutes, so the fish starts cooking right away. Turn the trout carefully so it doesn’t break, using a fish slice. When cooked, the flesh should be moist and the skin crisp.
Sweet-tasting endive
Caramelizing endive takes away its bitter taste. Just as the sugared leaves start to brown and caramelize (about 5 minutes), turn them over and add orange juice so the thicker undersides can finish cooking (2–3 minutes).