Crispy-skinned mackerel with asian dressing

Tasty mackerel dinners

The other night I decided I wanted to do something with mackerel, and after a brief peruse online I found this little gem of a recipe from Jamie Oliver. It is nice and speedy to make – the dressing comes together in the time it takes the fish and rice to cook – which made it perfect for me to throw together on Friday night having just come back from London (and so not in the mood for faffing about with anything too complicated). I expected this to be tasty, but not quite as tasty as it was in reality, which is to say REALLY DAMN TASTY.

Funnily enough, I never used to like mackerel when I was younger. Then again, I didn’t like the taste of coffee either, so it is clear that I was a foolish child. Nowadays it’s a rare morning that I don’t have a cup of coffee, and I’m pleased to report that mackerel is firmly back on the menu too.

Mackerel is a fish which really does tick all the boxes...it’s very good for you, it’s pretty cheap, it’s sustainable (very important to the Bear) and most importantly it’s absolutely delicious. In fact, the only downside is that hours later, if you happen to burp - it will taste like mackerel. Accept this fate, and you’re onto a winner.

Crispy-skinned mackerel with asian dressing

Serves 2

For the fish:

2 x mackerel fillets

½ lemon

Olive oil

S + P

For the dressing:

1 red chilli

1 spring onion

A thumb-sized bit of fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp runny honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

Zest and juice of 1 lime

To serve:

Basmati rice

1 spring onion

1 red chilli

A few sprigs of mint

Put your rice in a pan, add boiling water and leave to cook for 10 mins. In the meantime, add some olive oil to your frying pan and heat up until it is nice and hot, then add the mackerel, skin side down. Season the fish with the salt and pepper. Grate your garlic, ginger, spring onion, lime zest and chilli into a bowl, then mix in the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and lime juice. After about 7 minutes, flip the fish over, squeeze over the lemon juice, and leave to cook for a further couple of minutes.

Finely chop the remaining spring onion, chilli and mint. Drain the rice and divide between 2 plates. Serve the fish on top of the rice, drizzled with the dressing and sprinkled with the spring onion, chilli and mint. Oh yum.