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Mackerel and Salsa Verde

This is one of my favourite fish recipes and has gone down brilliantly with everyone I've fed it to so far. The way the salsa verde cuts through the strong, oily mackerel creates a balance of flavours that is strong but somehow light as well. If you've tried my Smoked Mackerel Salad you'll recognise the use of the mustard in the sauce to match the mackerel, it's a cracking combination.

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The method below creates a dish which looks great on the plate but could simply be done without tying the fillets together and just frying each individually skin side down with the salsa verde spread on top, just don't turn them or it'll go everywhere.

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This will work well with either a salad or a mix of vegetables, whatever takes your fancy. If I'm doing it with veg I sometimes make twice as much salsa verde and save half for use as side sauce with the dish. This just allows everyone to have as much or as little as they like.

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Ingredients

​Serves 2

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  • 2 cloves of garlic

  • 1/2 pack or 15g fresh parsley

  • 1/2 pack or 15g fresh basil

  • 2 sprigs of fresh tarragon

  • 1 tbsp capers

  • 1 tsp dijon mustard

  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

  • 4 mackerel fillets (fillet being one side of a mackerel)

Method

Pick the leaves of the herbs and, if you have one, add to a food processor with all the other ingredients except the mackerel as that would just make a weird pate. Give it a brief whizz up until it's all combined but still quite rough. If you don't have a food processor just chop all the herbs and capers together on a board until they are cut up quite small then add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand.

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Now take each mackerel fillet and with a pair of tweezers pull out the lateral bones. Or for a quicker, slightly less messy way, cut length ways along each side of the bone line at an angle so the two cuts meet under the bones but before it gets through the skin. You can then pull out the middle in one with all the bones attached. If there are any left at the head end just remove these with a little triangular cut through the skin, which you can see in the picture. This way does take a bit of practice but don't worry too much your long cut go through the skin, the filling shouldn't leak too much as it's quite course.

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Cut three bits of kitchen string long enough to go round two fillets and lay these on a board. Then place one fillet on top skin side down. Spread half the salsa verde on top then place one of the other fillets skin side up on top. It's like rebuilding the fish.

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Tie the string fairly tightly around both fillets to secure them together. Don't worry too much if a bit of the filling squeezes out the sides you can just poke it back in.

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Once you have done the same for both you have two nice mackerel parcels. Place them in a medium hot frying pan and cook for 4 minutes on one side then turn for 4 on the other. This should give you a crisp skin and perfectly cooked inside.

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Transfer to a board, remove the string and you are done. Just serve with your choice of sides and enjoy.

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