Pan Fried Mackerel Fillets with Pink Grapefruit Salad

Simply fried mackerel fillets are laid on a bed of pink grapefruit and peashoots

The arrival of the month of September always saddens me in one very specific way: it represents the beginning of the end of another prime mackerel fishing season. Soon, although mackerel will still of course be available in supermarkets and fishmongers, the super fresh stuff to which I have grown accustomed to catching and eating will not be available until mid-Spring 2013. Mackerel - even more so than most other species - is a fish which really has to be eaten as fresh as possible in order to be enjoyed at its very best and this incredibly quick and simple recipe is perfect for a lunch for one person.

Pink grapefruit is carefully peeled

Ingredients

1 whole fresh mackerel
1/2 pink grapefruit, separated in to segments
Handful of peashoots or green salad leaves of choice
Flour for dusting mackerel
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying
Chopped basil leaves to garnish
Granary bread and butter to serve

Pink grapefruit segments are mixed with peashoots to form salad bed for mackerel

Directions

Peel the grapefruit and carefully cut out the segments. Mix with the peashoots and lay on the bed of a serving plate.

Preparing to fillet a whole mackerel

Filleting mackerel is a very quick and easy procedure. Simply lay the fish on one side on a chopping board and cut in to it behind the fin at the side of its head. Slice off the first fillet, turn the fish over and simply repeat the process for the second fillet.

Fillets are removed from mackerel

Cut out the bone down the centre of each fillet by making a v-shaped cut. Wash the fillets in a bowl of cold water and gently pat them dry with kitchen paper.

Washed and boned mackerel fillets

Scatter the flour on a plate and season it with salt and pepper. Pour some olive oil in to a non-stick frying pan and put it on a medium heat. Pat the skin sides only of the mackerel fillets in the flour and gently shake to remove the excess. Lay them in the pan, skin sides down to fry and lightly season the flesh sides.

Pan frying mackerel fillets

After about three minutes, you should see that the fillets are almost cooked. At this stage, reduce the heat to minmum and carefully turn the fillets over with a fish slice or spatula. They will be ready after a further minute's cooking.

Lay the fillets on top of the salad as shown, scatter with the chopped/sliced basil and serve with fresh bread and butter.

Buttered granary bread makes the perfect accompaniment to this mackerel salad

Chicken and Chive Butter on Toast with Simple Summer Salad

Chicken and chive butter on hot toast can be served with any salad of choice

This simple yet delicious lunch idea came about when I decided to take the herb butter I frequently make at home one step further. I had been making duck confit one night (a way of cooking and preserving the meat) when the adaptation occured to me and I decided that the next time I had some leftover chicken, I would give this idea a go.

Note that it is necessary to prepare the butter the night before to give it time to set overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients (Serves Two)

3oz leftover cooked chicken (approximately)
1 tsp freshly chopped chives
3oz butter (approximately)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 diagonal slices from bread stick
2 handfuls peashoots
1 medium tomato
3" piece cucumber

Leftover chicken is mixed with chopped chives and seasoning

Directions

Carefully shred the chicken with your hands in to fairly small pieces. Mix it with the chopped chives and season with salt and pepper. (Omit the salt if you are using salted butter.) Arrange the combination in a small ramekin that the dish is around two-thirds full. Do not pack it down too tightly, as the melted butter needs to penetrate through the chicken and set it in place.

Chicken and chives should two-thirds fill a ramekin

Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is almost but not fully melted, remove the pan from the heat and simply swirl it to complete the process. This prevents the butter from overheating and perhaps starting to split. Pour the butter in to the ramekin to fill it level with the top. Cover and leave to cool and partially set. After a couple of hours, the butter should be partly solidified. Wrap the ramekin in clingfilm and place it in the fridge overnight.

Melted butter is carefully poured in to the ramekin to fill level with the top

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On the following day, try to remove the ramekin from the fridge a couple of hours before you intend eating lunch to let the butter become spreadable. If this is not practical (or you forget!) all you have to do is half fill a cup with boiling water, sit your knife in it for a few seconds, quickly dry the knife with kitchen paper and employ the hot knife through butter technique. It works very well.

Dipping your knife in to boiling water makes the butter easier to spread

Cut your bread and get it on to toast while you assemble your salad. The peashoots in this instance were laid on the plates and the segmented tomato and cucumber laid on top. Season with salt and pepper.

Spreading the chicken and chive butter on the hot toast

Spread the butter evenly over the hot toast and plate beside the salad. I like a little bit extra black pepper before service but this is of course entirely optional.

Toast is spread with the butter and ready to be plated and served