Ballotine of
Sea-Trout with Caper and Cucumber Ketchup, Herb and Potato salad and
Brown Shrimp Fritters
Poached sea-trout with capers and shrimps, topped with a little
flavoured crème fraîche, is the quintessential summer dish and great for
large parties. Two fillets are “stuck” together and poached, then
sliced through to give a nice, round circle.

Start a day in advance.

Serves 4

For the ballotine

■ 2 x 200g (7oz) sea-trout fillets,
skinned but not boned

■ Seasoning

■ 2 leaves gelatine

■ 50g (2oz) mixed herbs,
chopped

For the salad

■ 250g (9oz) new potatoes

■ 10g (1⁄2oz) mixed herbs,
chopped

■ 4 tbsp crème fraîche

■ Zest 1 lemon

■ Seasoning
For the ketchup

■ Half cucumber, skinned
and deseeded

■ 40g (11⁄2oz) capers

■ 1 tsp dill, chopped

■ Seasoning

■ 4 tbsp homemade mayonnaise

For the fritters

■ 60ml (21⁄2fl oz) milk

■ 60g (21⁄2oz) unsalted butter

■ 150g (5oz) plain flour

■ 2 egg yolks

■ 100g (31⁄2oz) brown shrimp,
peeled

■ Oil for deep frying

To garnish

■ Fresh garden herbs

To make the ballotine, place the trout fillets head to tail next to each
other, unskinned side on a tray, and season.

Soak the gelatine leaves
in a little cold water until soft, then lay over one of the trout
fillets and place the other trout fillet on top, so that both are still
head to tail.

Roll the combined fillets in the chopped herbs, then wrap
in cling film, twisting the ends to make a sausage-like shape.

Poach in
boiling water for 15 minutes, remove from the water then chill in fridge
overnight.

For the salad, cook the new potatoes in boiling, salted water for
approximately 10 minutes.

Once cooked, drain and cool. When cool, cut
the potatoes into 2cm (3⁄4in) dice and mix in the chopped herbs, crème
fraîche, a little lemon zest and seasoning.

To make the ketchup, place the cucumber and capers in a food processor
and blitz to a purée. Add the dill, season and mix in mayonnaise to form
a ketchup consistency.

For the fritters, bring the milk to the boil, add the butter and allow
to melt, then add the flour and mix to a thick paste.

Continue mixing
until the paste cools, then add the egg yolks and beat until the mixture
leaves the sides of the pan.

Add the shrimps and combine.

Chill for one
hour, then roll into small balls 0.5cm (1⁄4in) in diameter.

Deep-fry
the fritters for two minutes at 180°C/350°F until golden brown. Drain
and keep warm.

To serve, cut the ballotine into 4cm (11⁄2in) slices with a sharp knife,
allowing one slice per person.

Place some potato salad in the centre of
each plate with a slice of the ballotine on top.

Dot the ketchup around
the edge of the plate and arrange two or three fritters per person on
each plate.

Garnish with fresh herbs.

Serve immediately.

More food in The Field

Salad of heritage tomatoes with mozarella and gazpacho of vegetables

Pimm’s No 1 Jelly with Garden Spearmint Water Ice