Wild Georgia Trout with Pole Bean Salad
4 fillets of fresh Georgia trout
2lb pole beans
1/2 red onion
1/2lb cherry tomatoes
3 oz bacon (thick-slab)
1c red wine vinegar
1tsp mustard
1 local, organic egg
1 lemon
salt and pepper
grapeseed oil, if necessary
Preheat oven to 375* and set a large pot of salted water on to boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, clean the ends off the pole
bean, making sure to peel the inedible fibrous string off of both
sides. Place bacon on a sheet tray and put in the oven for about
10-15 minutes, or until crispy. RESERVE THE FAT! Cut pole beans in to
pieces about 2 inches long, and drop in boiling water. Cook until
tender, but still green. In general I always cook these a little bit
further than I would cook an haricot vert, which I like pretty
crunchy.
Drain and shock in a bowl of ice and water. When they are
cold, put them in a colander to drain out the excess water. Slice your
red onion as thinly as possible and toss with some red wine vinegar
and salt. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. This is the simplest and
best recipe for pickled onions. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in
half. Then chop the bacon. Mix the pole beans, tomatoes, onions and
bacon together in a bowl and set aside.
Now it's time to make the dressing. Seperate the egg yolk and put in a
bowl. Stir in the mustard and a 1/3c of vinegar. Now find a pot that
your bowl will nest nicely on top of, and put a hand towel over the
pot, set your bowl on top, and this will make whisking in the bacon
fat much easier. Now you want to drizzle your warm bacon fat into the
bowl. Don't go too fast or you will break the emulsion. You are
basically making a bacon fat mayonnaise. Add lemon juice, and if you
need to, use a neutral oil like grapeseed to supplement if you don't
have enough bacon fat. Dressing should taste acidic. Toss pole bean
mix with mayonnaise and check the seasoning.
Score the skin of your trout filets and rinse them, patting them dry.
Check for pin bones and scales. In a hot pan with some rapeseed oil,
sear the trout, skin side down. Flip over when skin is crispy, and
cook until just done. Serve immediately.
