Verjus-pickled mackerel
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + cooling + pickling
- Easy
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 fillets mackerel, pin-boned
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- ½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- to serve dill sprigs
PICKLE
- 250ml verjus
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
- 100g golden caster sugar
HORSERADISH YOGURT
- 1 tsp creamed horseradish
- 6 tbsp thick greek yogurt
DILL OIL
- 250ml vegetable oil
- a bunch dill
TO SERVE
- 4 red grapes, thinly sliced
- 4 silverskin pickled onions, halved
Method
- STEP 1
Heat all the pickle ingredients in a pan with 2 tsp salt and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the liquid from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Put the mackerel fillets, skin-side down in a shallow dish and pour over the pickle. Clingfilm the surface of the mackerel to ensure they are submerged in the liquid. Put in the fridge for 24 hours.
- STEP 2
To make the horseradish yogurt, mix the ingredients with a pinch of salt. Put into a small piping bag and chill until ready to serve. Whizz the vegetable oil with the bunch of dill and a pinch of salt in a blender or liquidiser, then strain through muslin or a clean J-cloth, reserving the green oil. It will keep, covered, in the fridge, for a week.
- STEP 3
Let the fish and marinade come to room temperature 1 hour before you serve. Remove the mackerel fillets and pat dry with kitchen paper. Strain the leftover pickling liquid. Whisk 50ml of the strained liquid with 1 tbsp rapeseed oil to make a dressing. Add the cucumber and season.
- STEP 4
Pipe a few blobs of the yogurt onto 4 plates, and sit the mackerel fillets on top, skin-side up. Drizzle over the dressing with a few cucumber pieces, grape slices and pickled onion halves. Add a little dill oil and a few dill sprigs. Serve with a simple salad or crusty bread.
