Mackerel Escabeche

For a fish that is often overlooked mackerel has a physical beauty the likes of cod or salmon can only dream of. Their handsome shape perfectly in tune to the rhythms of the sea. And freshly caught, their oily skin shimmers in natural light. The problem is that mackerel should be eaten as fresh as possible. Too long on a fishmongers slab and their allure soon fades. But if you can't eat it fresh pickle it. A good way of preserving makerel is to make a Spanish escabeche. The fish is first poached, or fried, then immersed in a tangy vinegar. Great with some grilled sourdough.

Ingredients

4 fresh mackerel, filleted
200mls tarragon Vinegar
100ml water
1 small glass of white wine
150gs sugar
1 red onion
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tumeric
olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tbls raisins


Heat some olive oil in a large pan big enough to fit the Mackerel fillets. When hot carefully slide the fish in, skin side down. After about 1 minute turn over and cook the other side for the same amount of time.Take out and drain on some kitchen paper. Cook the chopped onion in the oil until soft and coloured. Just at the end add some chopped garlic and dried chilli flakes. Drain and reserve the oil. Put the vinegar, water, wine, sugar and spices into a pot, bring to the boil and reduce a little. Add the raisins and season. Place the mackerel in a sterilized jar and pour over onions and the hot pickling liquor. Seal, let it cool and pop in the fridge. Eat cold or at room temperature.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.

Bar, Seville

Jaggery Spread

Jaggery or gur is one of those food items that comes cloaked in a little mystery. For the record, its unrefined sugar from the jaggery palm. Cooking with it gives food a molasses or caramel type quality. Usually used in desserts but equally good in savoury dishes chiseled from the block it comes in. This recipe is from journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown's The Settlers Cookbook her memoir on the little known Ugandan-Indian diaspora that settled and prospered in East Africa in the 19th century until Idi Amin expelled them in the 1970s after the military coup.


Ingredients

4 tbls Jaggery
4 tbls Butter

Heat up equal amounts of jaggery and butter. As soon as it starts to sizzel take off the heat. Immediately spread over warm chapatis or stir into a freshly made dhal. If the spread is left to cool for about 20 minutes it will turn into a delicious fudge to accompany some tea.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.

Date Pickle

For Muslim's breaking their fast during Ramadan, Phoenix Dactylifera, dates to you and me, are a good source of energy and will slowly help restart the digestive process back to its pre-fasting norm. This pickle uses both the fresh kind and the dried. The fresh taste a little like a sweet coconut apple and the dried have that unique sticky and cloying moreishness.
Popular in Iran and Iraq this gooey pickle is great with fried or scrambled eggs or as a bracing accompaniment to cheese.

Ingredients

500g fresh and dried dates
150g sumac
200g tamarind brick
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
juice of 2 lemons

Seperately, soak the Sumac and tamarind in a little water overnight. Stone the fresh and dried dates and soak them foe a few hours. Then roughly chop them. Add the strained tamarind and sumac, the rest of the spices and the lemon juice. Spoon all the lovely gooeyness into sterilized jars and keep in a cool place. The fridge is a little too cool and the mixture has a tendancy to crystallize but the pickle will probably last longer if refrigerated.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist.

Pear Relish

Pomologist Edward Bunyard believed that “the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption”.
The new season pears will be ready for harvesting soon. So if you want to encounter a little of that “silent consumption” let them ripen for a few days after being picked. Or better still pickle them to make a zingy relish. This is great with some seriously strong cheese like an Italian Gorgonzola or our own Milleens from the craggy wilds of the Beara Peninsula.
This is adapted from a recipe by food writer and chef Skye Gyngell.

Ingredients

2 pears
1 apple
2 tablespoons currants
2 tbls barberries
50ml raspberry vinegar (or cider vinegar)
cinnamon stick
25g butter
2 tbls sugar
few sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper.

Soak the dried fruit in some warm water. Core and chop the pears and apple into small dice. Melt the butter in a pan, add the fruit and cook until starting to soften. Add all the other ingredients (except the salt and pepper) and cook for a further 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and season if necessary. Store in a sterilized jar.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist