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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