The saddest thing in a restaurant is to cook a piece of fish so that the skin is beautifully browned, salty and crispy and then to see it thrown in the compost bin because the diner scrapped it off and cast it aside.

The bulk of the omega 3 fatty acids in fish, are found along the bloodline between the flesh and the skin. Beyond matters of health, the crispy skin against the delicate flakey trout and the crunch of the kohlrabi slaw is not to be missed!

• 2 large kohlrabi
• ½ C buttermilk
• 2 T olive oil
• ½ tsp cumin seed
• 1 bu mint, torn
• pinch of salt
• 2 lb lake trout, skin on cut into 4 pieces

1. Heat the olive oil until hot and remove from the heat
2. Add the cumin seed and let steep for 10 minutes
3. Cut the tops and bottoms off the kohlrabi and peel either with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife
4. Slice into ¼ inch rounds
5. Stack those rounds and cut into matchsticks
6. In a bowl combine the yogurt and cumin
7. Add the kohlrabi, torn mint and 2 pinches of salt
8. 10 minutes before serving
9. Remove the fish from refrigeration and transfer to a plate resting the fish in a single layer with the skin side up
10. Preheat the oven to 350F
11. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan on the stove
12. Add a glug of neutral oil until very hot
13. Dab the skin of the fish with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture
14. Sprinkle the fish with salt and sear the fish, skin side down
15. Sprinkle the flesh of the fish (now facing up) with salt
16. Cook the fish on the stove top until the fish will move easily when pushed from the side (this means that the skin is fully seared and won’t stick)
17. Transfer the frying pan to the oven and continue to cook until just cooked through
18. Remove from the oven
19. Transfer the fish to a plate, skin side up
20. Serve with a pile of the kohlrabi slaw on the top