Grilled Pancetta-Wrapped Trout with Verjus, Crushed Grapes, and Fennel Gratin

Name: Grilled Pancetta-Wrapped Trout with Verjus, Crushed Grapes, and Fennel Gratin
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion; 1 teaspoon thyme leaves; 1 1/2 cups sliced sorrel; 1/3 cup heavy cream; 6 trout, 8 ounces each, boned and butterflied; 6 slices pancetta, about 1/8-inch thick; 1 cup red seedless grapes, picked from the stems; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons sliced flat-leaf parsley; 1 bunch watercress, cleaned, tough stems removed; Verjus sauce (recipe follows); Fennel gratin (recipe follows); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes; 1 small shallot, thinly sliced; 1 cup verjus; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; 1/2 lemon, for juicing; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon fennel seeds; 1 1/2 pounds fennel (4 or 5 bulbs); 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion; 1 tablespoon thyme leaves; 2 fresh bay leaves, sliced; 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds or dill; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled; 2/3 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

January 24, 2012

Rainbow trout is a delicious option for fish-loving home cooks. It’s available year-round and won’t break the bank even when you want to feed a crowd. Have your fishmonger bone and butterfly the trout for you, leaving the tail intact and keeping the two fillets attached on the fin side. This preparation is a study in contrasts, a three-way complement to the flaky flesh of the trout. The blushing sweet-tart sauce is made with both crushed grapes and verjus, the juice of unripe wine grapes. (The French used verjus in medieval and Renaissance times in much the same way we use vinegar or lemon juice today.) Less acidic and more complex than most vinegar, the verjus’s refreshing fruitiness plays counterpoint to the salty cured Italian bacon wrapped around the trout. And finally, hidden within this lively package: rich, herbaceous sorrel cream, bringing us back to earth.

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