More people than ever are choosing to smoke food at home, and an increasing number of shops and garden centres are responding by stocking smoking chips. Try it for yourself by getting hold of some chips and trying this week's recipe, a relatively simple interpretation of curing and smoking fish which finds the perfect partner in the Italian cheese burrata – which you can source from delis or high-end supermarkets – pink grapefruit and lemon oil.
Smoked trout, pink grapefruit and lemon oil
Serves 4
500g sea trout fillet
50g salt
30g sugar
200g oak wood shavings
50ml vegetable oil
4 pink grapefruits
1 lemon
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 chicory
1 burrata
10g dill
Set the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
If you haven't asked your fishmonger to skin the trout for you then do it now, placing the fillet on a baking tray.
Combine the salt and sugar and sprinkle it evenly over the fish before placing into the fridge. After 30 minutes rinse the fish under cold running water and place it on a cloth to dry well.
Once the fish is dry put it on a wire rack that fits into a deep baking tray.
Line the base of the baking tray with tinfoil, add the wood shavings and sprinkle some water over them. Carefully place the tray over a gas flame until smoking or use a firelighter placed in among the chips. When the wood is smoking well lower the wire rack into the tray and cover with another tray or tinfoil. Smoke the fish for 30 minutes.
Take the lid off and remove the wire rack with the fish.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a low heat and carefully add the fish. Brown the outside flesh uniformly before removing the fillet from the pan to a chopping board and allowing it to cool.
Squeeze the juice from three of the grapefruits and place it in a medium-sized pan. Reduce it over a moderate heat by half then season lightly with salt and allow to cool.
Using a small paring knife, remove the skin from the remaining grapefruit and cut the flesh into segments.
Zest the lemon and place the zest in a small bowl with the olive oil and allow to infuse for 10 minutes.
Slice the chicory thinly, dress it with the lemon oil and season it with salt.
To serve, slice the fish 1cm thick and arrange it on four plates. Tear the burrata and scatter it around the fish along with the grapefruit segments and chicory slices. Drizzle the grapefruit reduction over the top, garnish with the dill and serve.
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