Ingredients
- Trout
- 4 Butterflied trout, pin bones removed (or 8 fillets)
- 16 Baby/bambino eggplants, 2 to 3 inches tall
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon vinaigrette
- Eggplant Broth
- 1 tbsp. Olive oil
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Onion (peeled and diced)
- 3 Shallots
- 5 Small eggplants, diced (avoiding most of the seeds)
- 1 Carrot (peeled and diced)
- ¼ cup Rice wine vinegar
- 1 qt. Vegetable stock (extra sweet)
- 4 sprigs Oregano
- 2 sprigs Basil
- Salt and pepper
Grilled Trout with Baby Eggplants and Eggplant Broth
Meal: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Ingredient: Seafood
Season: Summer
Contributor: Dan Barber
Directions
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
For the Eggplant Broth
- Sweat the onions, shallots, and garlic slowly for 15 minutes, covered, on lowest flame; make sure there is no color.
- Add the diced eggplants and carrot to pot and cook for 5 minutes on low flame.
- Add the rice wine vinegar and reduce to almost nothing.
- Add the vegetable stock and reduce by half.
- Take off flame and add herbs and seasoning. Let sit 10 minutes and strain. Reserve the broth.
For the Trout
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Light a grill or heat a grill pan over a high flame.
- In a bowl, toss the baby eggplants with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill the eggplants, making sure they are soft and well seared on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the grilled eggplants to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Brush the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the trout skin-side down, about 3 minutes.
- Finish the fish in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and peel the eggplants, discarding the stems. Cut in half crosswise. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon vinaigrette.
- To serve, spoon the eggplant broth into the bottom of the bowl. In the center of the bowl, plate the trout on top of a bed of baby eggplants (the trout should not be resting in the broth).
