Grilled Mackerel with Leek & Walnut Couscous

I have quite a few mackerel recipes that we like to try. It is one of those fish that seems to carry all sorts of  punchy flavours alongside it like horseradish, beetroot and chorizo to name but a few.

Its an oily fish with a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids which is good for normal metabolism and so, rather good for you. As it is oily, I like to simply grill it rather than pan fry; which I have done in this recipe and served with a couscous with leeks, green peppers, apricots and walnuts with a simple yoghurt sauce on the side and a little coriander pesto.

Ingredients:

2 mackerel fillets
1 leek, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup semi dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup couscous
1  pint chicken stock

Gently pan fry the peppers, leeks and garlic for about 10 minutes or until vegetables softened. In a bowl, add the hot chicken stock to the couscous and cover with cling film to let steam for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the couscous, along with the apricot and walnuts.

Set the grill to high and cook the mackerel, first skin side down for 2-3 minutes, then turn over and cook the until the skin is crisp.

Serve the fish skin side up with the couscous on the side.

For the yoghurt sauce:

In a bowl, whisk 1 cup plain low fat yoghurt with 1 clove garlic, minced, the zest and juice of 1/2 lime,  a handful of chopped fresh coriander, salt & pepper.

For the coriander pesto:

In a hand blender, blitz 25g fresh coriander, 1 tbsp. of pine nuts, 3-4 tbsp. olive oil with a dash of lime juice.

Serve either one of the sauce, or both as I have, with the fish and couscous. Very healthy and very tasty!


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Ensalada Rusa (including Vegan version)

This is a Spanish tapas dish that I had in the Canary Islands (think it was Tenerife). It is also called Olivier Salad and originates in Russia, but is also served in Spanish countries.

It is so simple, but so different to the usual tuna salad I have had in the past. Its a perfect little side dish to other tapas like sizzling garlic prawns and crusty bread.  Served in the garden with a newspaper and a glass of Rioja!

You can make this vegan using vegannaise which is a vegan mayonnaise,. You can buy Granovitas' Mayola in stores - or make it yourself using the recipe at the end of this page) and instead of tuna and egg, add chopped beetroot, pequillo peppers and green beans. Just as delicious.

Ingredients for tuna version:     (Serves 2-4)
1 x 160g tin tuna, drained
1 medium carrot
4 small new potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
150g mayonnaise
2 eggs, hardboiled & peeled
few chives for garnish

Method:

Boil the potatoes whole until tender and remove from the water with a slotted spoon, reserving the water in the saucepan. Leave to cool, peel and chop into small dice. Put into a medium sized bowl.

Chop the carrot into pea size dice and add to the potato water. Cook for ten minutes adding the frozen peas to the carrots for the last 2 minutes. Drain and add to the potatoes. Chop the hardboiled eggs. Put in the bowl with the cooked vegetables along with the drained tuna and mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly.

Lightly season with salt & pepper and stir in. Top with the chopped chives and serve at room temperature with lots of crusty bread.

For the Vegan version:

Make as above but instead of the tuna and egg, add a handful of steamed fine green beans, chopped, some chopped beetroot and sliced pequillo peppers. The vegannaise can be bought in stores but here is a recipe for that also.

Vegan Mayo   (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

 

1 cup firm silken tofu

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. English mustard

1 tbsp. caster sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup olive oil

 

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and mix until you get a light, thickened creamy mix. Now use in the recipe above and you have a Vegan Ensalada Rusa. Delicious!