Brule River Salad

Difficulty rating: 3 chef's hats (out of 5)
Cooking Time: for the potatoes- 15- 20 minutes, dressing, 5 minutes, catching the fish, all day and about 5-10 minutes to cook the fish
 
Patrick says: "This is a salad composed of the many ingredients found in and along our rivers in the spring and summer.  The thing that I love about the salad is that the ingredients can change with the season—morels in May and strawberries in June, blueberries, raspberries, and chantrels in July, and blackberries and hedgehog mushrooms in August.  Gordon McCreary, an old fishing guide from St. Paul, used to take people down the Brule river and gather lunch along the way.  He never gave away the exact recipe, but this is my version. If your foraging and fishing attempts prove fruitless, you can also look for these items (or their suggested substitutions) at a local farmer’s market, grocery store, and/or fish house."

Ingredients:

• 6 fresh Trout fillets --If you’re unlucky on the river, pick up from your local fishery
• 1 ½ cups cornmeal
• Pinch salt
• Pinch pepper
• 1 tsp parsley
• 3 strips bacon
• 3 bunches watercress (can substitute arugula)
• 8 boiled and quartered red potatoes
• 1 ½ cups mushrooms, wild if available
• ¾ cup wild strawberries (can substitute any berries)

For Wild Ramps vinaigrette:

• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 wild ramps (can substitute scallions or green onions)
• 2 tsp local honey
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• Pinch salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, and parsley in a bowl and mix until incorporated.  Dredge trout fillets in cornmeal mixture and reserve for later.

Place frying pan over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy.  Remove bacon and chop for later use in salad.  Place trout fillets in bacon grease and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Turn trout and continue to cook on other side for another 3-4 minutes until trout is firm but not flakey.  Remove trout from frying pan and reserve for top of salad.

In a bowl, combine watercress, potatoes, and mushrooms.  Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and blend until incorporated.  Toss vegetables with vinaigrette until coated.

Place equal amounts of salad on six plates.  Sprinkle each salad with chopped crispy bacon and wild berries.  Place cornmeal trout fillet over salad and serve. 

Inspired by Patrick Moore, A'viands Food Service Director for the Ashland School District