poached trout with peperonata

Chef Neil Cunningham is a passionate advocate for Victorian produce. He doesn’t shout it from the rooftops - nor does he need to - as each day, as executive chef of Yarra Valley’s Coombe restaurant, his menu does the talking for him.

Author

Neil Cunningham, Coombe Yarra Valley

Servings

2

Ingredients

• 2 red onions, finely diced
• 1 fennel bulb, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 red, 2 green and 2 yellow capsicum, cut into strips lengthways
• 100g Mount Zero Organic Pitted Kalamata Olives
• Drizzle of Mount Zero Red Wine Vinegar
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt, to taste
• 50g Mount Zero Beluga Black Lentils
• 300g trout fillet (either rainbow or brown trout will do)
• 1 tbsp Lemon Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt, to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Drizzle of Lemon Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 10 basil leaves, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Chargrill capsicum over an open flame, either on your hob burner or a barbecue, and set aside to cool.
2. Wash Beluga lentils several times until water runs clear, then cook in salted boiling water until tender. Set aside.
3. Sweat onion and fennel in a pan with olive oil until soft.
4. Add garlic and sauté until the raw smell goes away, 1-2 minutes.
5. Add capsicum, olives and cooked beluga lentils and stir to incorporate, then add vinegar, paprika and season to taste.
6. Cook until capsicum is starting to soften yet still has some crunch. Set aside.
7. Vac-pack trout fillet with lemon oil, lemon zest, pink lake salt and poach in a sous vide water bath for 10 minutes at 50 degrees Celsius.
8. Put the peperonata mix on the plate, then top with a trout fillet and garnish with basil leaves.
9. Finish with a drizzle of more Lemon Pressed EVOO.