Seafood Made Simple: Variety is the spice of life with these quick mackerel and mullet recipes

Aishling Moore's Smoked Mackerel & New Potato Niçoise. Picture: Chani Anderson

This weekend features two of the most wonderful and versatile species our oceans have to offer, red mullet and mackerel. 

I tend to avoid naming a favourite species as a rule. Our favouritism of certain species is excessive and problematic, however, every time we receive a delivery of a particular fish at Goldie that I haven’t seen in a while, I’ll exclaim to the kitchen team “This one’s my favourite!” 

A nod and an eye roll from each of them usually follows, knowing I’ll have a different answer for them tomorrow.

Variety is the spice of life, and it’s the fuel for our creativity at Goldie. Our menu changes daily and sometimes hourly depending on numerous factors: the season, the weather, yield, and sizes of the fish we are working with.

Mackerel was the species I focused on most in my new book Whole Catch which was published this April by Blasta Books. Its glistening tail also adorns the front cover.

There are endless possibilities with this slender little oily fish; raw, pickled, grilled, baked, soused, pan fried and smoked. It is a fish that’s best enjoyed as soon as possible after it’s landed.

Smoked mackerel is one of the handiest and most scrumptious seafood products you can pick up. Stick in the fridge, and enjoy a couple of days later, without any commitment that you’ll have to use it that evening. 

If you don't have access to fresh fish this is a great product to add to your shopping list, especially if you want to include seafood in your diet but find the procurement, handling, and storage a little difficult. 

Smoked mackerel is great picked and served on top of scrambled eggs and toast, made into a pâté with cream cheese or crème fraiche or stuffed into a sandwich.

This weekend I’ve gone with a super simple smoked mackerel and new potato Niçoise salad. It’s a classic for a reason and I love a salad that’s heavy on carbs. It's always so exciting to see the first new potatoes in the market. A sign of all the delicious summer produce to come.

We’ve also got an easy oven baked red mullet vindaloo, with raita and a kachumber salad. The oiliness and flavour of red mullet can really stand up to stronger flavours. 

This is a quick dish, with 10 minutes maximum cooking time, and would be excellent folded into some naan or served with rice, if you are in need of a little more.

Smoked Mackerel & New Potato Niçoise

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This recipe would also work well with tinned mackerel, sardines, or tuna.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 whole smoked mackerel or two fillets

• 450g new potatoes

• 2 sprigs of mint

• 4 medium eggs

• 125g cherry tomatoes, sliced

• 3 little gem lettuce or a mixture of leaves

• 50g black olives. sliced

• 2 large spring onions, sliced

• For the dressing

• 2 anchovy fillets

• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated

• 1 lemon, juiced

• Salt

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 50g chopped chervil or any soft herb like dill, parsley, and chive

Method

1. To make the dressing finely chop the anchovies and combine with the garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Let this sit for 5 minutes. The lemon juice and salt will mellow the harshness of the garlic and anchovy. Then add the Dijon mustard, vinegar, olive oil and chopped herbs. Season with a little cracked black pepper. Taste and adjust acidity if needed.

2. Rinse and scrub the new potatoes to remove any dirt. Place in a medium sized saucepan and fill to cover with cold water. Add the mint sprigs and a generous pinch of salt. Place on a medium high heat and simmer until tender but still holding their shape, 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the spuds. Drain in a colander and allow to cool slightly before chopping roughly into 1-inch chunks. Place in a small bowl and add 2 tbsp of the dressing to the potatoes whilst still warm to soak up all that flavour.

3. To boil the eggs, place a small saucepan on the heat and bring to the boil. Gently drop the eggs into the boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. I like my yolks to be just set and a little fudgy so if you’d prefer a more cooked yolk go for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and plunge into an ice bath to cool immediately. Tap the eggs gently once cooled and peel before cutting into quarters lengthways.

4. Serve on a large platter laying out the lettuce, new potatoes, and eggs first. Then flake over the smoked mackerel, tomatoes, spring onions and olives. Finish with spoonfuls of the dressing drizzled over the top.

Red mullet vindaloo, kachcumber salad and raita

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This recipe also works with mackerel, cod, hake, monkfish, pollock, sardines.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the vindaloo:

• 8 fillets of red mullet

• 90ml vegetable oil

• 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

• 2 tsp cumin seed

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp curry powder

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp chilli powder

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• 125ml apple cider vinegar

• For the salad:

• 1 large or 4 small cucumbers

• 1 large beef tomato or 3 regular sized tomatoes

• 1 red onion sliced.

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 sprigs mint, chopped

• For the raita:

• 200g natural yoghurt

• ½ cucumber

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp ground coriander

• 1 lemon, juiced and zested

• 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. For the vindaloo:

2. To make the vindaloo paste place the vegetable oil in a small heavy-based saucepan on medium-high heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

3. Reduce the heat before adding the remaining spices and garlic. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

4. Add the apple cider vinegar and cook to reduce by two thirds. Set this paste aside until ready to cook the red mullet.

5. Lightly grease a large sheet pan or roasting tray with vegetable oil and preheat your oven to 200°C. Place the red mullet on the tray making sure none of the fillets are overlapping, before brushing each fillet with the vindaloo paste. Season well with sea salt. Cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

6. For the salad:

7. Chop the cucumber and tomato into 1 inch chunks. Add to a small bowl with the sliced red onion and mint. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

8. For the raita:

9. Finely dice the cucumber and sprinkle with a little salt to remove some of the water. Set aside for 10 minutes before straining. Add the cucumber to a small bowl and mix to combine with the yogurt, spices, chopped coriander, lemon zest and juice.

Mackerel and mullet know-how 

Smoked mackerel is brined in a salt solution before being hot smoked, so it’s a cooked ready to eat product.

If using a whole mackerel, place the fish on a chopping board with the cavity of the fish facing you. 

Detach the head and pull working from the head down to tail to remove the main frame of the fish at the same time.

Red mullet has lots of large scales and does need to be pin-boned before cooking, so if you’re lucky enough to have a skilled fishmonger in your area, I’d recommend asking for them to pin bone it for you.