Fresh trout, lactic whey and tart blackcurrants come together in a cacophony of flavours and colours in this beautiful starter from Ana Roš. Be sure to use the best quality ingredients you can find to make the dish really sing.
To make the sauce, place the cream and whey in a pan, bring to the boil and reduce by almost half. Set to one side until ready to serve
1l whey
250ml of double cream
2
For the citronella oil, add the grapeseed oil and citronella to a Thermomix, blend for 5 minutes at 60°C then strain through a sieve lined with muslin cloth into a bowl set in an ice bath
To make the courgette salad, brunoise the courgette and mint and combine in a bowl. Dress the salad with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt to taste
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Meanwhile, toast the buckwheat kernels in a hot dry frying pan until they puff up like popcorn, then set aside
200g of buckwheat
6
Rub the portions of trout in olive oil and salt and place in a baking dish. Roast in the oven for 5–8 minutes until just cooked and still slightly underdone in the centre
To serve, reheat the whey cream and divide into six individual bowls. Add a teaspoon of the citronella oil to split the sauce, then place a portion of the trout in the centre of the bowl with some of the courgette salad over the top. Add a few dots of the blackcurrant purée on the courgettes, sprinkle puffed buckwheat over the whole dish and garnish with foraged leaves and malva flowers.
Trading in a planned career as a diplomat for a job in the kitchen, self-trained chef Ana Roš has transformed Hiša Franko – her husband’s family’s restaurant just across the Italian border in Slovenia – into a globally-renowned dining destination.
