Baked Cornish Mackerel
With gooseberry & ginger
The first time I came across gooseberries was in an Enid Blyton book when I was seven. When I moved to London and saw gooseberries on sale in the summer, I immediately bought a punnet from the market and happily munched down on a little green berry – only to grimace in shock at their sourness. I learned then that gooseberries had to be sweetened with sugar before being thrown into the yummy pies and puddings I’d read about, and I’ve since embraced their tart juicy qualities. They are especially good for cutting through the richness of fatty meats like pork, or oily fish like mackerel. The dish below is a classic Asian combination of sweet, salty, hot and sour flavours, but I’ve made use of the natural acidity of gooseberries instead of the traditional lime juice or tamarind.
- 4 Cornish mackerel, gutted
- a big pinch of sea salt
- a 2.5cm piece of ginger
- 1 small punnet of gooseberries
- 1 teaspoon unrefined light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- a handful of fresh dill, chopped
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.
- Rub the mackerel all over and inside their bellies with sea salt. Slice the ginger into matchsticks.
- Arrange the mackerel on a large baking tray or in an ovenproof pot. Scatter the ginger and gooseberries over, and sprinkle the gooseberries with the sugar. Drizzle with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Seal the tray with foil or put a lid on the pot.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked and tender, and the gooseberries have collapsed.
- Mash some of the gooseberries lightly to release their tart juices, and spoon the gooseberry soy sauce over the mackerel. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped dill.