Mackerel with warm greengage chutney
Mackerel is plentiful, cheap and packed with oily-fish goodness. Choose fish with shiny eyes that are stiff with freshness.
Ingredients
For the chutney
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 star anise
- 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
- 100ml/3½fl oz white wine vinegar
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú sugar
- salt
- 12 greengages, roughly chopped
For the mackerel
- 4 mackerel fillets
- vegetable oil, for frying
Method
To make the chutney, heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the mustard seeds, ground ginger, turmeric, cardamom and star anise and stir well.
Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and salt and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until everything thickens. When thick, add the greengages and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
To fry the mackerel, heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Place each mackerel fillet, skin side down, and fry for about 5 minutes, then flip over and fry for a further 1-2 minutes or until cooked through.
Serve the mackerel with spoonfuls of warm chutney.