Salt Grilled Spanish Mackerel Food

GRILLED MACKEREL WITH TOASTED GARLIC BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat and oil the grates with a brush or towel.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the smashed garlic.
• Make 3 deep cuts on each side of the fish. Season fillets generously with salt and pepper. Place flesh side-down and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip fish over and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from grill and brush with some of the garlic butter (about 2 tablespoons).
• Squeeze 1/2 of a lime over each fillet and serve immediately.

GRILLED MACKEREL WITH ESCALIVADA & TOASTS

Steps:

• Heat the grill as hot as it will go. Line the grill pan or a large baking tray with foil. Using a potato peeler, remove most of the skin from the peppers, then remove the seeds and slice into 1cm strips. Toss with the onion and 1 tbsp oil, then grill for 15 mins, stirring halfway, until soft and charring here and there.
• Cut the aubergines into 1cm half moons and brush sparingly with 2 tbsp oil. Lay the slices over the peppers, season well, then grill for 5 mins until golden. Turn the aubergines over, scatter with the lemon zest and rosemary, then grill for 5 mins more until golden and soft in places. Stir the capers and the lemon juice into the vegetables. Season and set aside. Make and chill up to 3 days ahead; the flavours will intensify as it matures. Make sure you serve it just warm, with the parsley folded through it.
• For the toasts and fish, mix the rosemary, crushed garlic, oil and some seasoning. Brush half of this over one side of the ciabatta slices. Mix the chilli into the remainder, then brush over the fish and let it marinate for anything from 5 mins to 1 hr in the fridge. Grill the fish, skin-side up (or barbecue skin-side down), for 4-5 mins, depending on the thickness of flesh, until just cooked through and the skin is crisp. Grill the bread until sizzling and golden. Top the toasts with the escalivada, followed by the fish, and serve with another drizzle oil, if you like.

GRILLED MACKEREL FILLETS

Steps:

• Mix all the marinade ingredients, then pour over the fish. Set aside for 20 mins.
• For the salad, combine the sesame oil, lime juice, soy, honey and sweet chilli to make a dressing, then toss with the leaves.
• Grill the marinated mackerel under a hot grill for 5 mins, basting two or three times with any excess marinade, until the flesh begins to flake. Slice and serve with the dressed salad leaves.

CLASSIC SALT-GRILLED FISH

Steps:

• To clean the sardines, have at hand a large bowl of cold salted water. Rinse the whole fish under cold running water. Scale the fish. Cut open the belly, and remove the gills and intestine without damaging them. Rinse the inside of the belly thoroughly but gently. Don't use a toothbrush, because sardines are very tender. Rinse the fish again in the salted water. Drain the fish, and wipe it dry with paper towels. For a more attractive presentation of cooked whole fish, you can remove the gills and intestine together without cutting the belly. To do this, insert a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks through the mouth of the fish and deep into the belly. Rotate the chopsticks several times, and then gently pull them out, with the intestine and gills sandwiched between them. If you won't be cooking the fish for several hours, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate it.
• If you are using swordfish steaks, rinse them in cold salted water (1½ tablespoons fine salt per quart of water) very briefly. Once fish is filleted and cut into pieces, it loses its flavor quickly in water. Drain the steaks, and wipe them dry with paper towels.
• Salt the fish using the proper amount of salt (see note), and let it stand for 20 minutes. During the salting period, fire up a grill or broiler. Heat the grill rack or broiler pan to a very high temperature before placing the fish on it. This will prevent the fish from sticking to the rack or pan.
• Rinse the fish in a bowl of salted cold water (1½ tablespoons fine salt per quart of water). Wipe the fish dry with a paper towel.
• Place the fish on the hot grill rack or broiler pan, about 4 inches from the heat source, with the side that will face the diner toward the heat. Cook the fish over high heat until its surface has attained a nice golden color. Turn over the fish just once. A 1-inch-thick fish takes about 8 to 10 minutes of total cooking time.
• Mix the daikon with the soy sauce. Accompany each serving with a little tinted daikon and two lemon wedges.