This Grilled Mackerel Recipe is from Eat Happy by Melissa Hemsley.
Tamarind is what makes the sauce for Asian dishes like Pad Thai taste so good, and this dish is inspired by my Filipino Mum who loves tamarind and always fed it to me as a child.
Its tangy sweet-sour flavour perfectly cuts through the oily mackerel, which you could swap with another type of fish fillet, or use whole fish instead. The ginger greens are lovely hot or warm, or eaten cold as a salad. You can swap in any green veg you have in the fridge.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
– 1 tsp coconut oil or ghee
– 8 mackerel fillets (total 700g)
– Sea salt and black pepper
Filipino-Style Tamarind Sauce
– 3 tbsp tamarind paste
– 1 tsp chilli flakes, (or to taste)
– 1 tbsp maple syrup
– 2 tbsp tamari
– Juice of 1 lime
Greens
– 11⁄2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
– 4 spring onions, sliced (green parts saved to garnish)
– 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
– 3cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
– 1 head of broccoli (about 300g), cut into small florets
– 250g green beans, trimmed
– 250g sugar snap peas or mangetout, chopped
To Serve
– 1 large handful of mixed fresh herbs (such as coriander, basil or mint), finely chopped
– 1 large handful of cashews, toasted and roughly chopped
Method:
1. Preheat the grill to high. Add the oil to a baking tray and pop under the grill for a few minutes to melt.
2. Whisk the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Toast the nuts in a dry saucepan and then set aside.
3. For the greens, melt the 11⁄2 tablespoons of oil in the saucepan, add the white parts of the spring onions, garlic and ginger and fry over a medium heat for 30 seconds.
4. Tip in all the green vegetables and stir-fry for 5 minutes until just tender. Add a splash of water if the greens are getting too dry and sticking to the pan.
5. Meanwhile, place the mackerel fillets on the greased baking tray, skin side up, season with salt and pepper then grill for 4–5 minutes until just cooked through.
6. When the greens are just tender, pour in the tamarind sauce and stir in. Increase the heat and simmer for about 30 seconds to heat through. Taste for seasoning, adding a little more tamari if you’d like it to be saltier.
7. Serve the greens with the fish, scattered with the green parts of the spring onions and the fresh herbs and toasted nuts.
Bestselling home cook and co-author of The Art of Eating Well and Good + Simple, Melissa Hemsley of Hemsley + Hemsley, presents flavourful and veg-packed dishes.
Featuring supermarket ingredients, simple methods, and tips and tricks to make no-fuss great food, Eat Happy is designed to see you through the whole week – tempting breakfasts to family dinners and lunches, as well as party food, snacks, baking, desserts, drinks, and simple, healthier versions of takeaway favourites.
Read more at www.penguin.co.uk.
EXTRACTED FROM EAT HAPPY BY MELISSA HEMSLEY (EBURY PRESS, £20).