Roast Mackerel

I really enjoy cookbooks the taste of home and all recipes ones, are compiled of recipes by normal – for the most part, household cooks. None of this fancy guff by, well off celebrity chefs, that can afford all the expensive equipment and ingredients. That said I do also enjoy trying my hand at the fancy celebrity chef stuff every now and again, and to be honest I own an awful lot of celebrity cookbooks including, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Rachel Ray to mention just a couple my collection is actually a lot more extensive than that and probably covers about 32 books and 18 different chefs and that doesn’t include Leiths and Betty Crocker and my Mrs Beeton books. Jamie Oliver is probably one of my most favourite celebrity chefs mostly because I admire who he is and what he stands for, I absolutely love the way he cooks, with a sprinkling of this, a dash of that and a good glug this and two swirls of this round the pan. It’s an imprecise way of cooking and haphazard and in my eyes the epitome of cooking. Then there is Gordon Ramsay who comes across as a bully, arrogant, and very brash, but he is the ultimate chef. He strives for no less than perfect and is totally brilliant. His bullish ways are because he is passionate about the food being served to the public, and his job. Let’s face it you don’t get anywhere in life without a niche that makes you special from everyone else. Gordon’s foul mouth and angry outbursts are what sets him apart from everyone else. Just as Jamie Oliver is the sensitive family man from Essex, with a healthy eating, everything in moderation type attitude and Nigella has branded herself as the domestic goddess who was slightly frumpy – although I would be more inclined to say all woman, who ate midnight snacks straight out of the fridge – she’s lost so much weight now though, that I am guessing the midnight munchies feasts, have now stopped, which you can only admire her for, but it is also slightly a shame because her attitude towards food and eating is inspirational. Something about it makes me feel less guilty because her recipes are deliciously indulgent but she makes it ok. I love her for that reason alone. Anyway this is one is adapted slightly from Gordon Ramsay’s, what inspired me about this recipe were the words, cheap and plentiful. How can you not like the sound of that? If the truth be told we all need to do more regarding, sustainable food sources and seasonal eating – not to mention helping your own country, by using farmers markets, and buying locally sourced foods. These are at least a good place to start.

Roast Mackerel

1 garlic clove, peeled

1tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

Olive oil

4 large mackerel fillets, skin on

225g new potatoes

1-2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

for the vinaigrette

pinch of saffron

½ tbsp. white wine vinegar

½ tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Green salad and garlic bread to serve

 

1.       Preheat your oven to 220˚C/430˚F.  Using a mortar and pestle, make a smooth paste out of the garlic, paprika and salt. I find the easiest method is to crush the ingredients and then to just roll the pestle firmly around the mortar, same effect less effort required. I used to try bashing, crushing and pounding everything, to death, but it took ages and the one day I was talking and idly rolling it around and it worked. Next add a few drops of olive oil and mix to incorporate, then massage the paste into the fleshy bit of the fish and set to one side.

2.       Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a bowl and whisk together seasoning with salt and pepper.

3.       Place the fish on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and brushed with a little olive oil, skin side up and season with sea salt. Bake until the skin is crispy and the fish is cooked, this will take only about 10 minutes, once the fish is cooked, let it rest.

4.       Cook the potatoes until cooked through, in salted boiling water. Then drain and roughly mash using a fork, add a tbsp. of olive oil, the spring onion, season to taste and stir then add a little of the vinaigrette.

Serve the potatoes with the fish, a green salad and some garlic bread, sprinkling the remaining vinaigrette over the fish.