Around 1600, the Mi’kmaq and other native communities taught settlers how to distill maple sap to make maple syrup. Today the Canada’s eastern provinces are famous for their cabanes à sucre (“sugar huts,” or farms where maple syrup is produced), and maple syrup production is part of the Canadian cultural fabric. Sap flows better and is therefore easier to collect in February and March, when nights are cold but daytime temperatures are above freezing. To obtain 1 liter of maple syrup, about 40 liters of sap must be shrunk. Canada is the world’s third largest producer of barley. In this dish, grains native to Canada, such as wild rice, can be used to accompany barley.
Ingredients for 4 portions
- Whole salmon trout, scaled 800 g (or 600 g fillets with skin on)
- Canola oil 5 ml
- Cedar plaque 1
- Red bell pepper 1
- Garlic cloves 2
- Canola oil 20 ml
- Smoked spicy paprika 2 g
- Ground cumin 2 g
- Maple syrup 45 ml
- Salt and pepper At will
- Tomato concentrate 10 g
- World barley (or pearl barley) 175 g
- Fennel or meadow caraway seeds At will
- Onion for cooking, diced small 100 g
- Parsley, chopped 10 g
- Rosemary leaves, chopped 2 g
- Chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 600 ml
- Carrots, diced 200 g
- Bay leaves 2
- Dried blueberries 30 g
- Fennel, diced 250 g
- Fresh thyme leaves, chopped 7 g
Preparation
For trout:
Preheat the oven to 205° C. To prepare the trout, fillet and plug the trout, keeping the skin intact.Divide into 150 g portions per person.
Massage the skin with the oil and place it on the cedar plate, skin side down. Place it in the refrigerator without covering to allow the trout meat to dry slightly.
To make the jelly, massage the red bell pepper with 5 ml of canola oil and roast it over a direct heat source to scorch the skin, or roast it in a preheated oven until the flesh is soft and the skin almost peeled off. Let it cool, then peel the bell pepper and remove the seeds.
In a blender, puree the cleaned bell bell pepper and the remaining gelatin ingredients. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Let it heat well and reduce it to the desired consistency.
Brush the gelatin over the fish. Cook in an oven at 205° C or on the cold side of a barbecue grill without a flame under the plate until the fish is well cooked and the skin flakes easily.
For barley:
Preheat the oven to 205°C. Spread the barley on a smooth baking sheet and toast it until fragrant.
In a heavy-bottomed pot or pressure cooker over medium heat, add 5 ml of the canola oil. Fry the meadow cumin and fennel seeds for 30 to 60 seconds. Add onion and sauté until softened and translucent.
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the roasted barley and stir to grease the grains.
Add broth and bay leaves; simmer slowly, cover, and cook until barley is tender.
Meanwhile, combine the fennel and and carrots with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and roast them until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.
When the barley is cooked, add the roasted fennel and carrots, dried blueberries, parsley, thyme, and rosemary.
Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Serve with trout on cedar plate.
To limit our impact on the environment, we advise you to remain within 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, including all the courses you eat. Bear in mind that plant-based dishes are more likely to have a low environmental impact.
Even though some of our suggestions exceed the recommended 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, that doesn't mean you should never make them; it's the overall balance that counts. Regularly eating a healthy and eco-friendly diet in the long term offsets even the dishes with the most impact, as long as you don't make them too often.