Whole Rainbow Trout with a confit of tomatoes and basil

Ingredients

• 1 whole Yarra Valley Rainbow Trout
• 200ml olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 dry red chilli, broken roughly to expose the seeds
• Good pinch of fennel seeds
• Pinch of sea salt
• 10 cherry tomatoes, washed and left whole
• ½ cup washed and torn basil leave

Method

For the confit of cherry tomatoes

Heat the oil, garlic, chilli, fennel seeds and salt in a saucepan over a very low heat until warm. You should still be able to place your finger in the oil. This heat will release the flavours of the aromatics. Place the tomatoes into the flavoured oil and continue to heat over a very low heat until the tomatoes just begin to breakdown. Add basil leaves and allow cool to room temperature.

For the whole trout

Carefully scale the trout and pat dry with a paper towel. On a flat BBQ plate or large frying pan heat a little olive oil. When quite hot add the whole trout and cook for approx. 8 minutes on the first side or until the skin is quite crisp. Turn the fish carefully, season the cooked side with sea salt and continue to cook the other side for the same amount of time. When you are happy the fish is cooked through place the fish on a serving platter then garnish liberally with the cherry tomato and basil confit.