Mackerel (two ways!), pink spuds, salad

Sometimes a fish looks quite small at the fishmonger's but when you get it into the more compact confines of the kitchen it takes on leviathan proportions. Such was the case today, but the fish was really fresh so I decided to cut some modestly-sized pieces from each fillet and dice the rest up to make a ceviche. Or a version of ceviche. I suspect there are as many ceviches as there are people that make them. It originated in South America and is essentially a sort of fish tartare, with raw fish and citrus juice, and usually some sort of onion and chilli. (The acid in the citrus sort of 'cooks' the fish.) The main portions of mackerel would get a hot fast fry with no more adornment than salt and pepper. So far so good.

I feel slightly ambivalent towards any main course that doesn't have some carbs, so combined some boiled anya potatoes with grated beetroot and creme fraiche to make a pink potato salad. Then for some reason I thought some clementine segments would look pretty mixed in with some green salad leaves. They certainly looked pretty, but didn't really add much to the eating, and I would leave them out if I did the dish again. 

The deeply green earthiness of the salad was a perfect foil for the gaudy vibrancy of the beetroot, and I feel privileged to have met Joel and Paola, who put their hearts and souls into growing it. I look forward to many more offerings from 'Calabaza' in my bags as their venture expands. Lovely lovely people. 

Got to say though, only my second ceviche and this time it was a revelation. I could have eaten a bucket of the stuff, and sort of wish I'd done the whole mackerel this way, even though the fried fillet was everything one would hope would be. But hindsight is a luxury the cook can ill afford until the sell-by date has already passed. Or something. 

Here's the recipe for anyone who still cares...

Mackerel two ways with pink potatoes and green salad

Serves 2

2 very fresh good-sized fillets of mackerel

Ceviche:
Somewhere in the region of 120g mackerel, trimmed from the above and diced
1 shallot, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
Half teaspoon fresh red chilli, not too hot
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of half a clementine
A few capers, chopped
A teaspoon of vinegar from the capers jar
2 tablespoons of chopped coriander

Potatoes:
8 or so anya potatoes (any other waxy potato will do if you can't get to a Sainsbury's)
1 normal sized beetroot, or a quarter of a massive one, grated
Neighbourhood of 100g creme fraiche
Two tablespoons chopped dill

Green salad:
A selection of deeply earthy salad leaves, such as those offered by Calabaza in this week's bag
A good glug of extra virgin olive oil
Half a teaspoon of whole grain mustard
Two teaspoons of vinegar from the capers jar

Bung your potatoes on to boil, and keep a bit of an eye on them until they're nice and tender but please don't let them go too far. When they're done, replace the very hot water with very cold water and let them sit in there and cool right down. Drain them again and add them to the other ingredients. Season with Maldon sea salt (always Maldon sea salt - accept nothing else!) and a good grind of black pepper. 

The alliums in the ceviche are tradionally raw, but I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to raw alliums so I cooked the shallot and garlic fairly gently for three minutes or so in the olive oil, to take the edge off. It's up to you if you want to do the same, but I do think the ceviche benefitted from it. Then it's really just a question of combining all the ingredients together in a bowl (apart from the coriander), remembering to season with salt and black pepper, and sticking it in the fridge for half an hour. 

Get an empty capers or mustard jar and shake the ingredients for the salad dressing in it to combine. Season with salt and pepper. 

Melt a knob of butter in a really hot frying pan and fry the mackerel in it skin side down for no longer than a couple of minutes. Turn it over, allow to fry for a few seconds then turn the heat off. Let the fish sit in the pan for another minute to finish cooking. 

Meanwhile, take the ceviche out of the fridge and mix in the coriander. 

Job done! Arrange everything on a plate in a manner that you find aesthetically appealing, or just pile it on however it lands and scoff it all down until the plate looks like this:

The chilli in the ceviche was just enough that it left a pleasant warmth in the back of the throat. I'll definitely be making it again. Lush.