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Recipes with mackerel fillets

6 recipes that use mackerel fillets, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Balık ekmek, takes 20 minutes. It is most often cooked with onion, garlic and lime.

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Nigerian fish roll

Hawkers carry glass boxes of fish rolls through Lagos traffic, and they are a fixture at parties among the small chops. The dough is a sweetish, slightly cakey one, wrapped around mackerel mashed with onion, pepper and thyme, then deep-fried to a deep gold with a crisp shell. They are good warm or at room temperature, with a soft drink or tea. Tinned mackerel works as well as fresh; poach fresh fish until it flakes before mashing. This version uses oil in the dough, so it is dairy free. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 170 °C; the common mistake is frying too hot, which browns the outside while the inner layer of dough stays raw.

75 minNigerianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jamaican rundown

Rundown, "run dung" in patois, is an old coastal dish from Portland and the north coast, where coconut palms and fishing boats share the beach: coconut milk is boiled until it "runs down" into thick, oily custard, and fish is gently cooked in it with tomato, onion, thyme and scotch bonnet. Salted mackerel is traditional, though fresh mackerel works beautifully and needs no soaking. People often stir the fish around once it is in, which breaks it to shreds; let it poach undisturbed. Chef's tip: keep boiling the coconut milk until you see clear oil pooling on top; that is when the sauce becomes rich and custardy. Serve with boiled green bananas, dumplings or breadfruit.

55 minJamaicanFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rakhine mont di

Sittwe wakes up hungry, and its answer is a bowl of Rakhine mont di from the breakfast shops near the jetty and market: thin rice noodles under a clear, tart broth made from sea fish, lemongrass and a whisper of fish paste. The fish is flaked over the top with sliced shallot, coriander and crisp garlic, and the real fire comes from a pounded paste of raw green chillies and garlic that everyone stirs in to taste. It is lean, bright and searingly hot, nothing like the creamy noodles of the north, and people eat it with fritters or nothing at all. A frequent mistake is boiling the fish hard so it falls apart into the broth; poach it gently and lift it out the moment it flakes. Chef's tip: make the green chilli paste first and let it sit for 15 minutes; the garlic mellows and the paste turns a brighter, fresher green.

60 minBurmesePasta & NoodlesGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cotriade

Cotriade is the Breton answer to bouillabaisse, plainer and kinder on the purse, made in the ports of the south coast from Concarneau to Quiberon with whatever the boats could not sell. Chunks of several fish, both firm and oily, are poached with potatoes and onions in a thyme-scented broth, then served in two parts: the broth poured over toasted bread, and the fish and potatoes moistened with a sharp mustardy vinaigrette. The contrast of the soft, buttery broth and the bright dressing is the whole point. Serve it with good bread and salted butter. Chef's tip: add the firm fish first and the delicate ones last, so nothing falls to pieces in the pot.

60 minFrenchSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Balık ekmek

At Eminönü, by the Galata Bridge, boats rocking at the quay grill mackerel fillets over charcoal and pass them up in half a loaf with raw onion, lettuce and a squeeze of lemon; you eat it on a low stool with a cup of pickle juice. It is the simplest fish sandwich imaginable and depends entirely on fresh, oily fish and a hot pan. Serve with turşu (pickles) and a salgam or ayran. Chef's tip: grill the fillets skin side down for most of the cooking time; the skin crisps and protects the soft flesh so it doesn't stick and tear.

20 minTurkishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mackerel with gooseberry sauce

In July and August shoals of mackerel come close to the piers from Kilmore Quay to Killybegs, and children catch them on hand lines for the evening pan. The old Irish partner for the oily fish is a sharp sauce of the gooseberries ripening in the garden at the same time, which cuts through the richness. Serve with new potatoes. Chef's tip: cook the fillets skin-side down almost all the way, so the skin crisps and the delicate flesh stays moist.

25 minIrishFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with mackerel fillets