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