Trout with Maple Morel Jam

This recipe is from the Maple & Mushrooms episode of A is for Apple, hosted by Leah Wildman.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 Trout filet about 6oz (170g) each

Broth

• 1 oz (28 g) dried morels
• 2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) minced garlic
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs

Mushroom jam

• 10 -12 medium fresh morels cleaned – see note
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) butter
• 1 medium Spanish onion
• ¼ cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup (60ml) sherry vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon wedges for drizzling

Directions

1. Heat vegetable stock in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and crumble in the dried morels. Allow too steep for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the liquid back into a saucepan, reserve the soaked mushrooms and roughly chop.
3. Add the chopped garlic to the broth, fresh thyme, add some salt and pepper.
4. Allow the broth to come to a simmer over medium heat then reduce heat to low just to keep warm.
5. For the jam: Cut the cleaned morels in half. Chop the onion into fine dice.
6. Place a medium skillet over medium heat and add the butter to melt.
7. Add the onions and cook until translucent and just starting to caramelize.  Add the morels and cook until slightly caramelized about 4 minutes.  Add the soaked dry ones to the pan. Continue to cook while stirring. The mushroom and onion will cook down a bit and get a bit sticky. About 3 minutes.
8. Deglaze the pan with sherry vinegar and stir scraping up any mushroom bits.  Add the maple syrup and stir to combine. Allow mixture to come to a simmer and reduce. The mixture will look glossy and slightly sticky.  Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
9. For the fish: take the back of your knife and scrape any excess water from the skin side.
10. Place a medium non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Add oil to the pan to heat one minute.
11. Season the trout with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the trout skin side down and cook without moving until the skin is crispy and golden.  Carefully flip the fish and continue to cook until a golden crust is achieved about 1-2 minutes. Remove fish from pan. If fish fillet is thick or you desire your fish cooked more.  Place in a preheated oven 375F (190°C) for 4 minutes.
12. To plate place the 4 fish into 4 large bowls.  Remove the thyme stocks from mushroom broth and pour ½ cup (125ml) into each bowl. Serve with lemon wedges.
13. Top the fish with a good spoonful of the mushroom maple jam.

Note: morels are a wild foraged mushroom and their centers are hollow a great place for bugs to hang out. They also have some crazy nooks and crannies. To clean the outside brush the dirt off using a mushroom brush. To clean inside use a brush or a pipe cleaner.

Alternatively, right before using, soak the mushrooms in a bowl of cold water to remove debris. Unfortunately this method can affect cooking (steaming vs sauté) as they absorb water like a sponge.