Spring Mackerel With Sour Grapes And Saffron Salsa Recipes

TEXAS TRASH SALSA

Steps:

• Drain tomatoes well, reserving juice.
• Put peeled and quartered onion in a blender, then top with remaining ingredients.
• Pulse blender until ingredients are chopped as finely as you wish.
• By putting onion in the blender first, it will chop more finely than remaining ingredients.
• If salsa seems too thick, you can thin it by adding some of the reserved tomato juice.
• This can be eaten immediately, but tastes best if allowed to chill for 2 hours.

SPRING MACKEREL WITH SOUR GRAPES AND SAFFRON SALSA

Steps:

• First make the salsa -- combine the onion, garlic, pepper, vinegar and a little salt in a bowl and marinate for the time it takes to prepare the fish.
• Dry roast the saffron threads until they barely darken (don't let them burn).
• Crush the saffron and add it to the marinating salsa in the bowl.
• Mix in the olive oil and the grapes.
• Now for the fish -- rinse and clean the fish.
• Salt both sides and the cavity.
• Dredge through the cornmeal, making sure to get a thorough coating.
• Heat up 1-2 Tbsp oil in the frying pan, then pan fry each fish for 4-6 minutes per side, turning gently to leave the cornmeal coating intact.
• Plate the fish, with the salsa along the side or passed separately.

MACKEREL WITH ORANGE & HARISSA GLAZE

Steps:

• Sift flour with smoked paprika and seasoning.
• Roll the mackerel fillets in the sifted flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and set the fish aside in a single layer.
• To make the glaze; put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the orange zest and juice and the harissa paste into a small bowl, and whisk together.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan with until very hot. Fry the fish fillets for 5 minutes on the skin side, then on the flesh side.
• When the fish is nearly cooked (it should look firm), pour over the orange and harissa glaze; bring to the boil and allow the liquid to bubble until sticky.
• Sprinkle over the pine nuts and coriander.