Chef’s Top Tip:
Simple everyday vegetables such as carrots and celery can provide amazing varieties of flavour and texture by combining them together in cooked and raw forms. By cutting then in thin julienne or fine dice gives lovely variety to texture. Simple ingredients are often overlooked.

Cooking Instructions:

First job is to make a simple pickle. Pop the vinegar, water & Sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then place the red onion, herb stems, fennel seeds, black pepper & Ginger into the liquid and leave to infuse and cool.

Ask your fish monger for 2 mackerel fillets butter flied. Mackerel has a lot of small bones so it is best to cut these out. Simply using a sharp knife separate the mackerel fillets by cutting either side of the back cartilage which you can discard. Then to deal with the pin bones, cut a v shape incision and simply remove the strip.

At this stage separate the pickle liquid in 2. Pop your mackerel fillets into the cool pickle for about 30 mins and it will take on a beautiful flavour. Then simply pop them on a lightly oiled tray and grill for 4 mins or so until the skin is crispy.

Pop the other part of the pickle into a pot and bring to a simmer. Peel 5 lengths of carrot, beetroot and Daikon and cook gentle in the pickle until tender. Remove and curl. Shave the fennel thinly and dress with good olive oil and chardonnay vinegar. Julienne and dice some of the raw beetroot & Daikon to give different textures.

Now plate it up. Shaved fennel on the base. Scatter over some of the raw beetroot and Daikon. Grilled Mackerel fillets on top. Finish with the pickled veggies and micro herbs. Great for a Ladies lunch sitting outside with a cool glass of white wine.