Cooking with Chef Rich Mead | Citrus, Ginger & Garlic Crusted Ocean Trout with Quinoa & Kale Salad

A trip to the farmer’s market offers a bounty of produce and ideas. Learn new recipes for summer entertaining from the master himself, Chef Richard Mead, former Owner & Chef of Sage restaurants and now the Executive Chef of Farmhouse restaurant at Roger’s Gardens, opening in spring 2016.

Delight your guests with delectable flavors that will have them begging for more.

Citrus, Ginger & Garlic Crusted Ocean Trout
Quinoa and kale salad with roast leeks and kumquats, citrus honey vinaigrette

Now is a great time for wild salmon and especially copper river salmon and this would be a great substitution.

For the fish:
(4) 4 oz. filets of ocean trout
3 each of: oranges, lemons, and limes
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:
1 bunch kale, stems discarded, washed and dried
1 tbsp each of fresh lemon and orange juice
2 leeks
½ pound of kumquats
salt and pepper

Take the 4 oz. filets of Ocean Trout (and seasoned both sides with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Zest your oranges, lemons, and limes. Reserve the citrus for later- you’ll need the juice for the salad dressing. Mixed the zest with grated ginger and garlic. Rub the mix onto the seasoned ocean trout filets and placed on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper.

For the salad

A few notes on this salad: two steps that are most important are also the ones requiring a little more effort. Massaging the kale and resting it overnight. This is an important step to tenderizing an otherwise rough and fibrous leafy green. If you’ve ever eaten kale that is tough and bitter, this was likely a step they missed.

Secondly, slicing and de-seeding the kumquats. There is a seed or two inside each kumquat and when you hit the seed or seeds, remove them with the tip of your knife, or with a toothpick.The kumquat a a bit of sweet and tart and a perfume element when mixed into the quinoa. The effort it takes to cut the kumquats is well worth it.

1. Chop the kale, and place in a bowl- sprinkle with a mix of orange and lemon juice and toss and rub with vigor. Place the kale in ziplock bags and refrigerate overnight.

2. Cook the quinoa, according to package directions, in seasoned water (by adding a little chicken stock, or at least salt to the boiling water). Let the quinoa cool.

3. Prepare your leeks: cut the greener tops off and discard, as well as the root ball. Cut the remaining leeks in large rings, wash carefully, dry and toss with olive oil salt and ground pepper. Heat oven to 350, lay seasoned leeks on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper roast until golden brown, remove from oven and set aside.

4. Wash kumquats and cut them thinly into rounds. Make sure to discard the seeds.

Mix the quinoa with the leeks and kumquats and empty your kale into the quinoa mix. toss together and season with salt and fresh ground pepper while you keep mixing.

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 TBS Honey
1 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 TBS orange zest
1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2 tsp fish sauce

Whisk together all ingredients, season with salt and fresh ground pepper, and drizzle while whisking 1 cup olive oil.
Taste and add more salt and fresh ground pepper if necessary.

You can also add some chile paste (sambal) to taste. A little touch adds more depth of flavor– adding to your mouth feel.
Just a touch of spice, not really enough to taste.

Roast your fish in a 350 degree oven until just cooked– realize that the fish will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven and prepare your dish to serve.

To serve, toss the dressing with your salad and season to taste. Place the salad on individual dishes or a platter and mound it on the plate. Place your citrus-crusted fish atop, and garnish with a drizzle of a good finishing olive oil to add a sheen, texture and a little depth to this light dish.

For garnishes besides olive oil, maybe a sprinkling of the thin sliced kumquats. There are a lot of nice ingredients to use from this dish as a garnish so keep it organic and be creative within the ingredients you have.