Followers of the blog will know that I've been working on a dish using mackerel and gooseberries after being inspired to do so by LSQ2 restaurant in Reading. They posed the question on twitter asking what they should do with some gooseberries they had picked.
Instantly my mind went down the dessert route and a gooseberry fool popped up but then I thought a little more about what else was in season (in the UK) and started to research for some ideas.
I have a wonderful book called "The flavour thesaurus" by Niki Segnit. It's a really fantastic find because it lists hundreds of flavour combinations, some well known but also some unusual pairings that you wouldn't ordinarily think to try. I'd recommend getting a copy especially if you want to be a little more adventurous with your own cooking but are too scared to experiment with flavours.
In the oily fish section the book suggests right away that the pairing of mackerel and gooseberry is an all time classic because the acidity of the fruit cuts through the fattiness of the fish. For fear of repetition I won't go over the whole thought process because you can find that in previous posts so I'll just get on with the recipe.
It comprises of four elements of which three can be prepared up to a few days in advance. The forth element can be done on the day with very little fuss.
(Please excuse the photography too. They were taken on my iPhone camera and the light in my home kitchen is a bit poor to say the least)
Pâté of hot smoked mackerel with pickled fennel and gooseberry purée (served with sliced crostini)Serves 4
For the pâté -
6 x Hot smoked mackerel fillets
75ml x Double Cream
100g x Unsalted Butter
2 tsp x Strong horseradish cream
Black Pepper
1. Melt the butter slowly in a saucepan over a low heat then set aside and allow to cool a little.
2. Take 4 of the mackerel fillets, remove the skin and flake into a blender trying to remove any bones as you do so.
3. To the mackerel add around 50ml of the cream, the horseradish and a good pinch of black pepper.
4. Pulse the mixture in the blender and slowly pour in some of the melted butter a little at a time until you have a nice smooth but not runny mixture. You should only need around half of the butter at this stage so don't pour it all in and keep tasting all the time, add some more cream or seasoning as you go depending on your own taste.
5. Transfer the mixture into a bowl then after removing the skin from the remaining 2 mackerel fillets flake these in, again being sure to try and remove any bones. The bigger the flakes of fish the more texture you'll get in the final pâté so use your own discretion as to how you want it. Folding the mixture rather than stirring it will retain also retain more texture so be delicate.
6. I used a square mould for setting my pâté. This was purely because of the way I wanted to present it but you can use any mould you like, it's entirely up to you, be creative. Whatever you decide it very important that you line the mold with cling film before filling it otherwise you'll have terrible trouble turning it out when it's chilled. (Another tip is to grease the mold with oil before lining with cling film, this will make it even easier to turn out)
7. Spoon the mackerel mixture into the lined mould leaving at least 5mm to spare at the top. Make sure that it's pushed into the corners and that no air gets trapped inside. Level the mixture off as much as you can (tapping it down on the worktop will help it settle nicely) then pour over the remaining melted butter to seal it off.
8. Leave it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It'll need at least a few hours in the fridge to set properly if doing it on the day.
Pickled Fennel
1 x Fennel bulb
8 x Gooseberries
2 x Juniper berries
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Salt & Black Pepper
1. Wash the fennel under some cold water then trim off the root end to get rid of the exposed end and do the same to the stems. The Dill like fronds can be saved and used later as a garnish.
2. With a vegetable peeler shave the fennel lengthways giving you nice thin slivers. Set these aside for the moment while you make the pickling mixture.
3. Into a bowl or Tupperware dish pour a good amount of olive oil, around 10 tbsp. Then pour in the white wine vinegar, around 3 tbsp. Give this a whisk up until it forms an emulsion.
4. Add the gooseberries to the vinaigrette by chopping them in quarters then passing through a fine sieve. This will ensure that no seeds of skins get into the mixture.
5. Finely chop or crush the juniper berries giving the whole mixture a whisk. Taste as you go seasoning with salt and pepper as you feel necessary. You want the pickling vinaigrette to be slightly sharp but not too acidic. You can temper the acidity with a pinch or two of caster sugar but not too much as the sharpness is essential to the finished dish.
6. Finally add the shaved fennel to the vinaigrette and mix it up so everything gets a coating then cover and store in the fridge until ready to use. Again if preparing on the day give yourself a couple of hours to get the flavours fully developed but overnight would be better.
Gooseberry Purée
250g x Gooseberries
15g x Unsalted butter
50g x Caster sugar
Dash of lemon juice
1. Simply add all the ingredients into a saucepan over a low heat and heat until the fruit goes soft, keep stirring so that it doesn't burn then pass the mixture though a fine sieve, allow to cool and store in the fridge until ready to use. A squeezable bottle is ideal because then you can just squeeze the purée directly onto the serving plates when needed.
I vacuum packed the ingredients an softened in a water bath set to 80c which is the ideal way to cook the fruit so if you have one (which any semi serious cook should in my opinion) then use it.
Sliced Crostini
1 x French baguette
Olive oil
1. Cut the baguette at an angle into thin slices around 5mm in thickness.
2. Lightly brush on both sides with a little olive oil.
3. Toast under a hot grill until golden.
The presentation is entirely up to you. I garnished mine with a few fennel fronds on the pickle and some finely chopped fresh mint on the pâté which again give it some more depth of flavour.
Personally I'd prefer to see how this looks on a white rectangular serving dish alas I have none :-)
Tomorrows blog with be for the main course of -
Rack of Lamb with summer vegetables and lamb broth.
Toodlepip xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment