Chef notes
Daniel Boulud gives Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager a private lesson in cooking, plating and serving with this grilled trout with asparagus and sorrel sauce — a light, bright spring dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup oil (olive, vegetable or grapeseed), plus more for the trout
- 4 ounces fresh sorrel (or arugula), stems removed and washed and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning the trout
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Tabasco, to taste
- 6 large white asparagus spears, cleaned, peeled, and bottom 1-inch trimmed (it is very important to peel the white asparagus from the head to the bottom of the stem)
- 6 jumbo green asparagus spears, bottom 1½-inches trimmed and discarded
- 2 (8-ounce) trout fillets, de-boned and scaled, skin removed
- 1 ounce trout roe
Preparation
For the sorrel sauce:
Preheat your grill and bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season lightly with salt. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil and drop eggs, in their shells, inside. Cook for 6 minutes and then cool under cold running water. When they have cooled enough to crack open, scoop them out of their shell, using a spoon, into a blender. Add Dijon and water, and blend until smooth, and then slowly pour in the oil while the blender is running. Add the sorrel leaves and blend on high until it is smooth and incorporated. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco, and strain through a fine-mesh sieve, if necessary.
For the asparagus:
Cook the white asparagus for 3 minutes at a low boil and then add in the green asparagus. Continue to cook for 6 minutes, or until they are tender. Carefully drain using a slotted spoon so you don’t break the tips. Drain onto a towel-lined plate and reserve in a warm place.
For the trout:
Drizzle olive oil on each of each fillet of trout and season with salt and pepper. Lay the fillets, skin-side up, on a hot grill and turn down the heat to medium-low. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes to create a single grill line. When it is halfway cooked, turn it over and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
To assemble:
Place each trout fillet on a warmed dinner plate and top with some sorrel sauce on one side. Divide the asparagus among the plates and arrange them in alternating colors. Top the asparagus with some trout roe.
