Baked trout, walnut crème fraiche and roast baby beets

Courtesy Brad Ball

*Serves 4

Ingredients

Baby beets, about 3 per person, washed and trimmed
80 ml balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
2 sprigs of thyme

4 whole trout, 450g each, gutted and scaled
Bunch fresh thyme
12 lemon slices

4 heaped tablespoons creamed horseradish
6 tablespoons toasted walnuts, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of chopped chives

method

Preparation of beets
Pre-heat oven to 240°C. Place beets in a tray and season with salt, pepper. Add thyme and balsamic. Cover with foil. Roast for 20 minutes until tender.
Remove and peel when cool enough to handle.
Dress with olive oil and check seasoning, set aside.

Preparation of trout
Pre-heat oven to 240°C. Rub trout with some oil and season with salt and pepper. Fill cavity with some thyme and lemon slices. Bake for 12 minutes, do not turn.

Preparation of walnut crème fraiche
Mix together the ingredients and season well. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.