Fresh from the sea …

Fresh from the sea….side ….

…. We’ve spent a few days down by the sea in North Cornwall. It’s an annual treat that all my family enjoy – and we spend it with my mother, sisters and families. Cousins together – as well as sisters united!

My husband has a little sailing boat which doubles up as a fantastic fish trawler and he is always hoping for as many outings on the ‘Golden Duck’ as possible. Our younger son, Angus, is a very keen fisherman and along with his friend Fred, they set out on a few adventures this week from the mouth of the Camel estuary and into the tempting sea waters beyond.

Equipped with rods and lines, Angus and Fred plotted and chatted about where the best place would be to find the highest number of fish. Fred, with key local knowledge, was able to direct the skipper towards Steppe Point. After a very exciting few hours, the happy gang returned to the mooring with 25 mackerel and stories of seeing basking sharks and the ‘big-uns’ that got away.

And so to my cooking tips – fresh mackerel! Having removed the heads, gutted and thoroughly cleaned each fish; we froze some whole, flat on baking trays, lined with paper and ready to bag up into batches of 4 once frozen. These you can return to – long after your holiday has ended – and carefully defrost and place on their backs in little tin foil ‘boats’. Drizzle the insides with olive oil, salt & pepper and a wedge of lemon, partly squeezed onto the flesh and roasted with the fish. Place onto a hot bbq (or oven) and open roast for approx 10 mins (depending on how hot the bbq is). Serve whole, in the foil, with lemon & parsley mayonnaise.

With the remaining fresh fish, I filleted the fish – using a very sharp knife to follow a line either side of the spine and ease the flesh away from the spiky bones. Once you have removed the fillet from the spine, it’s always a good idea to run your fingers back over the flesh and pull out any little bones that you might have left.

With skin on, dice into small chunks – or slithers – put into a bowl and dress with fresh lemon juice, salt & pepper. Leave covered in the fridge for up to an hour. This process is similar to curing and is a know as ‘ceviche’ originally a South American marinade for fish. Depending on the taste and robustness of your fish you can also add fresh chilli, herbs and spices. However, with mackerel I don’t want to mask the true – fresh-from-the-sea – taste.

Before serving, prepare a delicious and very easy salsa – I finely chopped spring onions, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, avocado and cucumber (with the seeds removed), mixed together in a bowl and dressed with a little olive oil, more lemon juice, salt & pepper.

Prepare some thinly sliced brown toast squares, mini oatcake or open baby gem lettuce leaves and fill each with a spoon full of mackerel ceviche topped with salsa. Finish with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and serve as a beautifully fresh (and very easy to make) canapé.

A truly fresh & simple way to enjoy the seaside!

"So pretty"