Brown Trout with Wild Garlic Quinoa and Roasted Garlic Cream

This was a huge knockout from the folks at Le Champignon Sauvage. I had to substitute rocket (arugula) for the wild garlic and I couldn't get my hands on quinoa, so I used pearl barley. I have reprinted the original version of the recipe.

What can I say? It was buttery, garlicy, nutty and rich. Looked good on the plate. We're still basking in the glow of this one a bit, so I apologize if I am at a bit of a loss for words. The fish we got was super-fresh. We used some rich homemade shellfish stock that we had in the freezer. I can't knock a thing about it.

BROWN TROUT
2x450 g brown trout fillets
50 milliliters olive oil
25 g unsalted butter

GARLIC CREAM
2 heads garlic
20 milliliters olive oil
500 milliliters FISH STOCK
50 milliliters milk
200 milliliters double cream

QUINOA
50 milliliters olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
½ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 g quinoa
300 milliliters FISH STOCK
120 g wild garlic leaves

TROUT
Make sure there aren't any bones left in the trout. Cut each fillet into 3 pieces and place in the fridge until needed.

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM
Remove the papery outer layers from the garlic. Moisten the heads with the olive oil and place on a baking tray. Roast in an oven preheated to 180C for 20-30 minutes, until tender and golden. Pop the garlic cloves out of their skins and place in a saucepan with the fish stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until reduced by half. Add the milk and double cream, bring back to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Push through a fine sieve and season to taste.

WILD GARLIC QUINOA
Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan and add the onion, garlic and quinoa. Cook without colouring until you can smell the slight nuttiness of the quinoa. Immediately pour in the fish stock. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then reduce to a light simmer and cook until tender. When it is ready, the quinoa should have a white ring surrounding the centre of the grain. Taste; it should be tender with a little bite. Set aside 6-8 wild garlic leaves and blanch the remainder in a large pan of salted water for 30 seconds. Refresh the blanched wild garlic quickly in a bowl of iced water to set the color. When it is cold, squeeze out excess water and place the garlic leaves in a food processor. Process to a puree, adding a little water if needed.

Finely chop the raw wild garlic leaves. Whilst the quinoa is still warm, fold them through it and then fold in the wild garlic puree. Season and drizzle with a little olive oil. Keep warm.

COOKING THE TROUT
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Season the trout fillets and add them to the pan, skin-side down. Add the butter and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until you see the trout change around the edges from translucent pink to a paler shade of pink. Turn the fish over, count to 10 and turn off the heat. Move the pan to a cooler part of the stove so the fish finishes cooking in the warmth of the pan. Drain and re-season the trout.

SERVING
Place a small mound of the quinoa in the middle of each serving plate and arrange the trout on top. Froth the sauce with a stick blender and pour it around the fish.