Sea Trout with Chilled Buttermilk, Shaved Cucumber and Dill Oil

⏱ 50 min · Serves 4

A restaurant-plate of a dish that tastes like a cold Nordic morning: blush-pink sea trout cooked gently until just barely set, sitting in a pool of tangy chilled buttermilk with ribbons of salted cucumber and a slick of vivid green dill oil. Fresh, elegant and surprisingly simple once the oil is made.

Per serving: 525 kcal · 36.0g protein · 9.0g carbs · 38.0g fat

Ingredients

• 4 x 140g sea trout fillets, skin on, pin-boned
• 30g fresh dill (fronds and tender stalks)
• 150ml mild olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 300ml good buttermilk, well chilled
• 100g full-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for cooking
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 2 tbsp baby capers, rinsed
• Flaky sea salt and white pepper
• Handful of borage flowers or nasturtium leaves, to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Make the dill oil: blanch 25g of the dill in boiling water for 10 seconds, refresh in iced water, then squeeze bone dry. Blitz with the 150ml oil in a blender for 2 minutes until warm and bright green. Strain through a coffee filter or muslin-lined sieve into a bowl — don't press it. Chill.
2. Salt the fish: lay the trout fillets on a tray, sprinkle lightly with flaky salt and refrigerate for 20 minutes. This firms the flesh and seasons it through.
3. Prepare the cucumber: peel the cucumber in stripes, halve lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Shave half into long ribbons with a peeler and dice the other half finely. Toss both with 1/2 tsp salt, the sugar and 1 tsp of the lemon juice. Leave 15 minutes, then drain well and chill.
4. Make the buttermilk sauce: whisk the chilled buttermilk with the Greek yoghurt, cider vinegar, lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice and a good pinch of salt and white pepper. It should be pourable and sharp. Keep very cold.
5. Pat the trout completely dry with kitchen paper. Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Lay the fillets in skin-side down, pressing gently for 20 seconds so they don't curl. Cook 4–5 minutes until the skin is crisp and the flesh has turned opaque two-thirds of the way up.
6. Add the butter, let it foam, and baste the fish for 30 seconds. Flip for just 20 seconds, then lift onto a warm plate. The centre should still be a deep rosy pink — carryover heat will finish it.
7. To plate: pour a generous ladle of the cold buttermilk into each shallow bowl. Pile the drained cucumber ribbons and dice to one side, scatter over the capers and set the trout on top, skin up so it stays crisp.
8. Spoon the dill oil in drops around the buttermilk, finish with the remaining dill fronds, flaky salt and flowers if using. Serve straight away, with new potatoes or rye bread.