Smoked trout, poached eggs, lemony latkes and smoky hollandaise

Nuno Mendes, the incredible Portuguese chef behind The Chiltern Firehouse and the former Viajante, has collaborated with The Scolt Head in De Beauvoir to create an epic weekend brunch menu featuring our very own oak smoked trout. We're so chuffed to be a part of this incredible neighbourghood project and even more chuffed to share the recipe for the 'Scolt's Royale' here.
 
Serves four

200g D cut smoked trout
8 soft poached Cacklebean Eggs
4 potato latkes
A handful of baby spinach washed and dried
Smokey hollandaise sauce
4 Tbsp cured trout roe
Pinch of smokey paprika
Picked dill

For the Latkes:
4 red skin potatoes - raw grated
3 pinch of salt
3 lemon zest
4 pinch sweet paprika
1/3 bunch chopped dill
1/4 bunch chopped thyme
Black pepper

Mix all the ingredients very well and cook then into small individual rounds with clarified butter using a non stick pan. Each latke should be about 6inch in diameter.
Cook them over low heat and keep turning them until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Sprinkle them with Maldon salt and transfer them to a serving plate.


For the Hollandaise sauce:

Shallot vinegar base
90g shallots
90g rice vinegar
90g white wine vinegar
Low sodium soy sauce or shiro dashi
Salt

Mix all the ingredients and cook them down until the shallots are soft.

If you can find kombu and want to make this base, it’s worth looking out for these ingredients.

Kombu dashi vinegar recipe:
Together boil
40g kombu
10g kombu dashi
1L water
180 rice vinegar
Simmer everything together until the kombu is soft. You can use the liquid and if you want, also the chopped Kombu into your Hollandaise.

Hollandaise starter:
4 egg yolk
3 large tablespoon reduction shallots
3 shots togarashi
Smoked paprika pinch
10 shots chipotle Tabasco
Kombu dashi to taste or warm water and a bit of soy sauce.
250g unsalted butter melted

Start the Hollandaise by mixing the egg yolks and the shallot reduction. Make the kombu dashi (or the warm water and soy sauce) in a large mixing bowl over a simmering Bain Marie.
Whisk them together and slowly start incorporating the butter in a slow stream so that it emulsified little by little into a nice and thick Hollandaise sauce.
Once you’ve achieved this, add the shallot reduction, the chipotle Tabasco, lemon juice to taste, soy sauce, smokey paprika and salt.
Keep it warm until serving.

To plate:

Place each warm Latke onto the serving plate, add spinach leaves and cover with draped smoked trout. Place two poached eggs on top of each of these, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of Hollandaise on top of each plate, drizzle some cured trout roe on top, garnish with picked dill and smoked paprika and serve right away

Brunch is served at The Scolt Head on Fridays and Saturdays 10am-4pm. Check out their website here for more info and to book.