Whole Roasted Trout with Pistou, Vadouvan Smashed Potatoes & Braised Dino Kale

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
Trout
- 1 Whole trout
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1 small bunch fresh basil with stems
- 1 small bunch of oregano with stems
- 4-5 lemon slices, thinly sliced
- 1 ancho chili, sliced with seeds removed
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper
- Drizzle of olive oil

Pistou
- 1 bunch of basil
- 1 bunch of oregano
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper

Kale
- 1 bunch of kale
- 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- 1-2 teaspoons Chile Limón
- 1/4 cup of chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon butter
- Salt and pepper

Potatoes
- 8-10 Yukon potatoes, washed and dried
- 1 tablespoon Vadouvan
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Butter

Avocado Mayo
- 1 avocado
- 1.5 tablespoons mayo

INSTRUCTIONS
1 - For the pistou, pick the leaves of basil and oregano and add to a food processor along with garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil in slowly and blend the pistou. Add lemon juice, blend, and taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until serving.
2 - For the avocado mayonnaise, mash together one avocado in a small mixing bowl with mayonnaise and a pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and refrigerate until serving.
3 - Preheat the oven to 350°. In a mixing bowl, add the potatoes, Vadouvan, olive oil, soft butter, salt, and pepper. Mix well and add to cast iron skillet. Roast for a total of 50 minutes, rotating the potatoes halfway through. Remove and press with the back of a fork to flatten halfway, just until they break. Leave in the pan, removed from heat, for a few minutes, flip, add salt and let rest on the stove covered with tin foil.
4 - Turn the the oven up to 450°. The trout should already have been scaled and gutted. Wash and pat dry. Make small, shallow cuts across the skin of the fish so that it just cuts into the flesh. Add salt and pepper making sure to rub the seasoning into the incisions. In the cavity, stuff with lemon slices, ancho chili slices, the basil and oregano stems and leaves, garlic, salt and pepper. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add cherry tomatoes, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 12 minutes. Turn the broiler on and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until the skin begins to crackle.
5 - Wash, dry and chop the kale into bite-sized pieces. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, butter, garlic, Chile Límon, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add the kale, mixing together well with oil and spices with an additional pinch of salt. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and turn the heat on high until the stock just begins to come to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat down to low, and cook for about 10 minutes.
6 - Serve the fish on a large cutting board with pistou either on the side or drizzled on top along with the potatoes and avocado mayonnaise, and a side of the braised kale.