Chef-owner Fred Muller named his restaurant after mezze, the appetizer course eaten throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, because he enjoys highlighting the Moorish aspects of local culture that the New Mexicans inherited from the Spanish.
This trout dish is inspired by a Moroccan preparation of red mullet cooked with preserved lemon, cilantro and a North African spice-and-herb sauce called chermoula. It’s also inspired by the wild watercress and mint that grow together beside trout streams in New Mexico.
Muller rough-chops mint and cilantro with preserved lemon, garlic and red pepper flakes. He rubs it on an eight- to 10-ounce trout and also stuffs about a tablespoon of it into the trout cavity. He grills the fish for about four and a half minutes per side.
He serves it with a sauce of cilantro, garlic and red pepper flakes puréed with olive oil. The dish is paired with grilled flatbread and a salad of watercress with seasonal herbs and shaved fennel dressed in a sherry vinaigrette.
The dish is $20.
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