Amba-spiced mackerel skewers, green tarator, fennel and tomato salad
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Ayesha Kalaji’s barbecued mackerel skewers are marinated in yoghurt (or labneh) and amba, a sour spice mix made from pickled green mangoes. Vibrant green sauces are in abundance here, including a green tarator (tahini sauce) made from coriander and dill, a green shatta (Middle Eastern hot sauce) and a spring onion top oil; all offering fresh and herbaceous flavour notes to complement the rich mackerel. Ayesha uses confit garlic across her menu at Queen of Cups in Glastonbury, which can be used here for roasting the tomatoes; find the recipe in her Wild garlic labneh.
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Ayesha says: “Mackerel is one of my favourite fish and I adore cooking it over fire so the skin slightly blisters and it takes on a wonderful smoky flavour.”
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
GREEN SHATTA
- 200g of green chillies, washed and finely sliced
- 12g of fine salt
- 35ml of cider vinegar
- 5ml of lemon juice, about 1 tsp
- olive oil, to cover
FENNEL SALAD
- 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
- confit garlic oil, or olive oil, for roasting
- 1 pinch of caster sugar
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 fennel bulb, small, shaved on a mandolin or very finely sliced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 bunch of dill, fronds picked
- 1 bunch of coriander, leaves picked
SPRING ONION TOP OIL
- 1 bunch of spring onions, green tops trimmed, washed and dried
- rapeseed oil, for blending
CRISPY BUCKWHEAT
- 100g of buckwheat
- vegetable oil, for deep-fat frying
- 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
MARINADE
- 100g of Greek yoghurt, or labneh if you have it
- 1 tbsp of amba spice mix
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
MACKEREL
- 4 mackerel fillets, pin-boned, halved lengthways
- 20 green olives, ideally gordal, pitted
- 4 spring onions, cut into 2-3cm pieces
- lemon juice, to finish
- 6 spring onions, green tops thinly sliced lengthways and soaked in iced water, then drained, to finish
- Aleppo chilli flakes, to finish
GREEN TARATOR
- 25g of coriander
- 25g of dill
- 50ml of lemon juice, plus extra as needed
- 150ml of water
- 200ml of tahini
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Sterilised jar or container
- Squeezy bottle
- Temperature probe
- Metal skewers
Method
1
Start the green shatta 3 days before you want to serve. In a sterilised container, toss the chillies with the salt, then cover and refrigerate for 3 days
- 200g of green chillies, washed and finely sliced
- 12g of fine salt
2
After 3 days, the chillies will have slightly softened and their heat will have tempered. Place the salted chillies in a blender with the vinegar and lemon juice and blend to a coarse paste. Transfer the shatta to a container and cover the surface with olive oil. Cover and store in the fridge – this will make more than you need
- 35ml of cider vinegar
- 5ml of lemon juice, about 1 tsp
- olive oil, to cover
3
For the fennel salad, preheat the oven to 140°C. Place the cherry tomatoes in a roasting tray and drizzle with a little confit garlic oil or olive oil, a pinch of sugar and salt and the thyme. Roast until they have softened, dehydrated slightly and have intensified in flavour. Set aside – these are served at room temperature
- 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
- confit garlic oil, or olive oil, for roasting
- 1 pinch of caster sugar
- 3 sprigs of thyme
4
To make the spring onion top oil, weigh the spring onion tops and place in a small food processor or blender with a pinch of salt and half their weight in rapeseed oil. Blend until smooth, then strain to retain the green oil – Ayesha uses coffee filters for this but you can use a muslin cloth if preferred. Set aside in a squeezy bottle in the fridge until needed
- 1 bunch of spring onions, green tops trimmed, washed and dried
- rapeseed oil, for blending
5
To make the crispy buckwheat, cook the buckwheat in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes until swollen, then drain and separate the groats with a fork. Leave to cool
- 100g of buckwheat
6
Heat a pan a third full of vegetable oil or a deep-fat fryer to 180°C and deep-fry the cooled buckwheat until crunchy and crisp, then remove to drain on kitchen paper
- vegetable oil, for deep-fat frying
7
Transfer the fried buckwheat to a pestle and mortar and break them up slightly. Stir through the nutritional yeast then set aside
- 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
8
Mix all the marinade ingredients together with a pinch of salt
- 100g of Greek yoghurt, or labneh if you have it
- 1 tbsp of amba spice mix
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
9
Rub the marinade all over the mackerel pieces, then thread onto skewers, folding the fish back on itself and alternating with the olives and spring onion. Set aside in the fridge until needed
- 4 mackerel fillets, pin-boned, halved lengthways
- 20 green olives, ideally gordal, pitted
- 4 spring onions, cut into 2-3cm pieces
10
For the green tarator, place the herbs, lemon juice, water and half a tablespoon of the green shatta in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix through the tahini until you have a spoonable consistency that will hold its shape and not run off the plate. Adjust with lemon and salt
- 25g of coriander
- 25g of dill
- 50ml of lemon juice, plus extra as needed
- 150ml of water
- 200ml of tahini
11
For the fennel salad, make a dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, half the sumac and a pinch of salt. Set aside
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp sumac
12
Massage the fennel with the lime juice and remaining sumac to soften slightly. Set aside
- 1 fennel bulb, small, shaved on a mandolin or very finely sliced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp sumac
13
When you want to cook, light a barbecue or preheat a grill pan. Cook the mackerel for about 4 minutes on each side to achieve good colour but keep the fish juicy. Finish with lemon juice and salt
- lemon juice, to finish
15
To serve, spread the tarator onto serving plates and arrange the salad around the edge. Place the skewers on top, along with the drained spring onions. Drizzle over a little spring onion top oil and finish with a dusting of Aleppo pepper and the crispy buckwheat
- 6 spring onions, green tops thinly sliced lengthways and soaked in iced water, then drained, to finish
- Aleppo chilli flakes, to finish
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