Tuesday 15 April 2008

LiveSTRONG Day: A Taste of Yellow Escabeche

However young or old any of us are, we've all had some type of experience with cancer - some more viscerally than others. The grandmother you've never met but whose death broke your father's too-young heart; the friend's sister who missed out on her final year of high school but beat the cancer and became a pediatrician so she could help other children; those times you've been to the Doctor's office with the odd-looking mole and held your breath until the results came back. A taste of yellow is the brain-child of Barbara at Winos and Foodies, a way for food bloggers to wave the banner of cancer awareness.

This mackerel escabeche gets its bright yellowness from the cornmeal encrusted fish and the saffron in the sauce. The recipe comes from Tommi Miers, a winner of Master Chef and now a restauranteur and TV chef working to bring Spanish and Mexican flavors to the UK. The escabeche cooks the fish both through heat and through acidity, while the raisins and onions add a touch of sweet and the olives a touch of salty. It was very similar in flavor - and color - to the chicken with white wine, and saffron and pine nuts I made a short while ago, both dishes being a good way to bring a bit of Spain and a touch of yellow to your meal. Serve with some god, hearty bread on which you can pile all the bits.


Mackerel Escabeche, from Tommi Miers
serves 4

  • 4 + 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 2 large red onions, sliced
  • 200ml good chicken stock or water
  • 1½ tbsp good quality sherry vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large dried red chilli, or a few small ones, finely chopped
  • A pinch of saffron
  • 75g pitted green olives, quartered
  • 75g raisins
  • 4 fresh mackerel, cleaned and filleted
  • 3 tbsp cornmeal/polenta
  • 4 tbsp pine kernels, toasted, to serve
  • Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish (optional)
  1. Start by making the escabeche: heat 4 Tbs of the olive oil into a hot frying pan and cook the garlic and onions over a low heat until softened and lightly coloured, stirring regularly.
  2. Stir in the stock, sherry vinegar, bay leaves, chilli and saffron.
  3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 10 minutes. Stir in the raisins and olives.
  4. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the mackerel. Cut each mackerel fillet in half lengthways and dust in seasoned cornmeal.
  5. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and cook the mackerel fillets in two or three batches for just 1 - 2 minutes on each side, adding extra oil if necessary.
  6. Drain on kitchen paper and transfer to a shallow dish.
  7. Spoon the escabeche over the mackerel fillets and leave to infuse for half an hour.
  8. Sprinkle the pine nuts over, and scatter with a little chopped flat leaf parsley if you have it on hand

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Oooh I love this recipe - thank you for sharing it. I have to try it.

Thank you for supporting LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow.

jasmine said...

What a great contribution to LiveSTRONG.

I'm hoping to get my act together to post something for it this year, but time is not on my side.

j

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Beautiful and well said Annemarie!
The fish looks grand!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Great choice of recipe. I can't wait to get my kitchen back - I've been itching to try Tommi's recipes from the Spanish series!

Nic said...

Looks really good - a super contribution. Thanks for sharing.

Peter M said...

I have yet to try the Escabeche method, mostly because I'm impatient your mackerel here only need sit for 5 hrs. rather than over night.

I'll give this approach a go and there's always lots of mackerel around.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

This is a fantastic recipe, Anne-Marie. The only is could be better is to follow it up with a bowl of your luscious rhubarb ice cream. :)

Helene said...

Wonderful recipe! Brings me back to my childhood :)

Lore said...

YUM, great recipe! The only problem I'll have will be the half an hour waiting time :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This is such a flavourful dish for the event. You all have my support for creating awareness and kicking this disease out the door.

Jeanne said...

I'm always looking for new ways to cook whole mackerel as I love it! In fact, there are 2 in my freezer right now... Thanks for the inspiration :)