Lemon Roasted Mackerel and Fennel, Spicy Rice and Tomato and Caper sauce

Serves: 2
Approx cost: €4
Approx calories: ~450
Approx preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes

I was never the world’s biggest fan of fennel, until I tried roasting it like this – the taste of fennel is much milder than usual and it goes excellently with the lemon juice and salt. Mackerel is quite strong in flavour so if you’re not a fan feel free to substitute with something like pollock or haddock which would also work really well.

Ingredients

Ingredients you'll need for this dish

– 4-6 fresh Mackerel fillets
– 90g Rice
– 2-3 medium Tomatoes
– 1 Fennel bulb
– 2 tbsps Capers
– 1 bunch fresh Coriander
– 3 tbsps Olive Oil
– Juice of half a Lemon
– 1-2 tsps of Harissa
– Salt
– Pepper

Instructions

1. Start off by preheating the oven to around 160 degrees Celsius, and then trim the top and bottom from the fennel, and peel off the outer-most layer. Chop in half and then slice each half – the slices should have a thickness of around 3-4mm each.
   
   
   
   




2. Arrange the fennel in the bottom of a roasting dish and then take the coriander. Chop this roughly, and arrange in the centre of the fennel. Wash and pat dry the mackerel fillets and arrange skin side up on top of the coriander. Pour 2 tbsps of the Olive Oil over the top of the fish and fennel (not all in one place) and sprinkle over about 4 tsps of Salt flakes, 2 tsps of freshly ground Black Pepper and pour over the Lemon Juice.
   
   
   
   




3. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and place in the oven. After about 20 minutes, remove the foil and continue cooking for another 30 minutes while you prepare the sauce and rice. Put enough water in a pan and bring to the boil and start to boil the rice for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes finely.
   
   
   
   




4. Add the tomatoes to a small pan with 1 tbsp Olive Oil. Place on the stove and heat on a high heat, stirring all the time, until softened and the structure has broken down. Add in the capers and continue to heat through until any excess liquid has boiled away and the sauce is thick.
   
   
   
   




5. Once the rice is ready, drain and mix with 1 or 2 teaspoons of Harissa. Arrange the rice into the centre of two plates, and place the roasted fennel around the rice. Lay the mackerel fillets on top of the rice in the centre and spoon some sauce over the fish and fennel and enjoy!

Nom nom