Keuka Lake Fishing and Lake Trout Tartare

On a visit to the Finger Lakes last weekend, we spent a morning trout fishing on Keuka Lake with Fisherman John. When he’s not teaching freshwater angling and fly fishing at Cornell University, John is on the lakes nearly every other day all year long, and you can trust him to figure where and when the action is. We had a slow start, but around 10 am the bite picked up for about an hour, which was long enough for us to land 5 nice lakers, all between 18 and 24 inches!

Just like my Quick Seared Trout with Smoked Trout Rillettes, this tartare recipe is simple to make and emphasizes the flavor of the fish. If you want to experience ultimate piscine freshness, you can even mix all the ingredients, put them in a plastic container, take it on the fishing boat and mix in the chopped trout as soon as you catch it! If you prefer the comfort of your dining room, serve the dish with some oven-roasted potatoes and a glass of Keuka Lake Riesling, like this one from Bully Hill Vineyards.

Fennel dice
Yields 2 servings

1/2 oz butter
2 oz small-diced fennel
salt

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the fennel, season with salt, cover and cook until soft, stirring regularly. Let cool and refrigerate.

Zucchini dice
Yields 2 servings

1/2 oz butter
2 oz small-diced baby zucchini
2 thyme sprigs, stems removed
salt

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the zucchini and thyme, season with salt, cover and cook until soft, stirring regularly. Let cool and refrigerate.

Tomato dice
Yields about 2 servings

2 vine tomatoes
salt
piment d’espelette

• Mark an X into the bottom of each tomato with a knife, plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds, then shock in ice water. Peel, cut into quarters and seed. Cut the flesh into small dice, measure exactly 1.8 oz and reserve the rest for another use. Season with salt and piment d’espelette and refrigerate.

Lake trout tartare
Yields 2 servings

10 oz skinless, boneless trout fillets
1 tbsp top-quality olive oil
salt
black pepper, ground
2 tbsp lemon mayonnaise
2 half egg shells
2 tsp trout roe
fennel dice
zucchini dice
tomato dice

• Chop the trout fillets into small dice. Mix with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Spoon the mayonnaise into the egg shells and top with the trout roe.
• Arrange all the elements on the plates and serve immediately.