Mackerel Fillet with Red Grapefruit Salad

 

Pan fried mackerel fillet with red grapefruit and toasted pine nuts salad

I started this long term project just a few days ago with a look at and recipe for deep fried haddock, the most popular fish sold in Scottish fish and chip shops. Today, I want to look at a very simple but delicious recipe for what is undoubtedly my favourite type of fish and seafood caught in Scotland: Atlantic mackerel. Pleasure sea anglers in particular have a tendency to criticise mackerel as an eating fish, preferring to catch or buy it for use only as bait for supposedly bigger and better things. I have never understood this attitude and while yes, I do use mackerel on occasion as bait when I'm sea fishing, I always reserve a few at least for the pot or the smoker.

This is an incredibly simple recipe that sees the beautifully acidic red grapefruit salad paired with the oily mackerel to complement one another to perfection.

Cook Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 5 min

Ready in: 15 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• Generous handful of spinach, rocket and red and ruby chard salad (or mixed salad leaves of choice)
• 3 or 4 red grapefruit segments, peeled, skinned and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon whole pin nuts
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 fresh mackerel fillet, skin on
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 or 3 basil leaves, rolled and shredded, to garnish

Method

Red grapefruit is peeled and separated into segments

Wash the salad leaves and shake them dry. Carefully toss them with the red grapefruit pieces and a little salt before arranging in the base of a deep serving plate.

Red grapefruit and pine nuts salad

Put the pine nuts into a clean, dry frying pan and the pan on to a very high heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan carefully every 20 to 30 seconds to move the nuts around. Pour from the pan to a small plate to cool for a couple of minutes before scattering over the salad.

Mackerel fillet is patted in seasoned flour

Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into the pan used to toast the pine nuts and put it on to reach a fairly high heat. Scatter the flour on a suitable plate and season with salt and pepper. Pat the mackerel fillet on its skin side only in the flour to evenly coat.

Mackerel is laid in to frying pan and hot oil

When the oil is heated, lay the mackerel fillet carefully in the pan on its skin side. Keep the heat fairly high and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until you can see the fillet is cooked almost all of the way through. Turn the heat under the pan down to low and carefully turn the fillet to finish cooking on its flesh side for 1 minute.

Mackerel is laid on red grapefruit salad bed

Lift the mackerel fillet on to the salad, skin side up. Scatter with the shredded basil leaves to garnish and serve.