Alpine rainbow Trout & Wildgrain herb Sauce
Recipe by: Leo Howard - Head Chef at Wildgrain Mornington March 2025
This recipe by Wildgrain Mornington weaves together fresh local produce from the land and seas of the Mornington Peninsula along with Alpine Rainbow Trout from further afield, served with local mussels – bay or ocean grown, the choice is yours. The Wildgrain team farm a plot of land at Torello Farm, where they grow much of their produce organically to ensure full flavoured, seasonal dishes including in-season greens and a variety of herbs for this recipe.
- Summer, Autumn, Winter
30 Minutes
10 Minutes
2 People
- 2 x rainbow trout fillets (skin on) 180g each
- 20g nduja sausage finely chopped
- 40g salted butter room temperature
- Zest of half a lemon
- 8 fresh mornington peninsula mussels (beards removed)
- 50ml white cooking wine
- 5 sprigs thyme
- ½ bunch chives washed ( reserve a little for garnish finely chopped)
- ½ bunch dill washed and picked ( reserve a little picked for garnish)
- 4 sprigs tarragon washed and picked ( reserve a little for garnish)
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 shallot peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 100ml olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Preheat oven to 220 c and line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Mix together 1 teaspoon of salt with 500ml of ice-cold water, then submerge the rainbow trout fillets in the brine for 10-15 minutes.
- While the fish is brining, whisk together the nduja and butter over a low flame until butter is melted, add lemon zest and keep warm to serve.
- Using a blender or food processor, blend together the chives, dill, tarragon, mustard, shallots & capers. Once smooth, slowly add the oil to emulsify the sauce before adding salt to taste and reserve at room temperature to serve.
- To cook the mussels, place a medium saucepan over a high heat until it starts to smoke. Then gently add a splash of vegetable oil and immediately add the mussels, wine & shallots then place a lid over the top. Cook over a high heat for approximately 5 minutes shaking the pot occasionally. Check the mussels and once they’re all open you know they’re ready. Remove the mussels from the pot and cool slightly reserving the stock. Once they cool enough to handle, remove the mussels from the shells and gently heat in the reserved mussel stock. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Remove the trout fillets from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the fillets onto the prepared baking sheet with the skin side facing upwards and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and peel away the skin (this should peel off easily if cooked). Leaving the skin on during the cooking process helps to keep the fish moist.
- To plate, spread the herb sauce onto serving plates. Place the trout fillets on top of the sauce and spoon over the nduja butter. Garnish with reserved fresh herbs.