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Mackerel with Spinach taglierini, confit squid and dulse.

Mackerel Dish
Image | Jamie Porter © Copyright | St Moritz

Ingredients

For the Pasta:
30 g dead weight spinach puree
500g 00 flour
6 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
20 g salt
 
2 whole mackerel
1 Lemon 
100g cooking chorizo
100g cleaned squid
50g sweet corn kernels 
Fennel cress 
500 ml Rapeseed oil 
200ml white wine vinegar
100g caster sugar
100ml water
Coriander seeds
Fennel seeds
2 star anise
2 bay leaves

 

Method

Padstow line caught Mackerel with Spinach taglierini, confit squid, pickled dulce seaweed, sweetcorn and chorizo. 
 
Jamie says: "Its best to use fresh line-caught Cornish mackerel that has only been out of the water for a few hours. In the summer months the oil content is good and high in mackerel. To fillet a mackerel is very easy: just cut with a sharp knife just behind the head diagonally toward the head then run your knife carefully along the backbone of the fish, finishing at the tail end. Alternatively if you are buying from a fishmonger just ask them to do it for you! To take the bones out of the fish just make a small 'V' cut either side of the bones without piercing the skin. Trim the fillets up so they are nice and tidy."
 
Pasta:
In a food processer blitz all your eggs with the spinach pure then set aside in a jug. Then add the flour and salt to the processer and slowly add the egg mix until it resembles breadcrumbs. Turn out your bright green dough and work for a good 5 minutes. Wrap in cling film and rest for 1 hour. After resting roll out your pasta into very thin layers and if you have a small taglierini cutter (taglierini meaning just a thinner version of taglietelle) then great, but if not just slice it carefully by hand. The pasta is now ready.
 
Squid:
Add half the spices and the bay leaf to the rapeseed oil and heat up to 90'C. Cut your squid into strips and drop into the oil. Then add the pan to an oven at 90'C for 35 minutes. Then let the squid cool down in the oil.
 
Pickled dulce:
Heat up the vinegar, water sugar and remaining spices then cool down. When cold pour on to your dulce seaweed.
 
Chorizo:
For this you need to use a chorizo which requires cooking to make the dressing for the dish. Cut the Chorizo into small chunks and put in a cold pan, then put the pan on a medium heat and cook out for about 20 minutes until all the oil renders out of the chorizo. Drain the cooked chorizo onto a cloth to drain.
 
All of the above can be done the night before so all you need to do is cook the fish and assemble on the day….
 
Cooking:
To cook the mackerel have a non stick pan on a low-medium heat and lay the mackerel skin side down and lightly press down till the fish relaxes then let the fish cook for about 2-3 minutes on this side you should be able to see the colour of the fish changing throughout. When you can see the mackerel is nearly there flip over and cook for 10 seconds on the flesh side then rest the residual heat will finish the cooking process.
 
Have a small pan of salted water at the boil for the pasta. Then in a small pan add some chorizo oil, chorizo, sweetcorn, squid, lemon juice, dulce and warm through gently on a low heat add salt and set aside. Drop the pasta into the boiling water for 30 seconds then mix with the rest of ingredients add salt.
 
To plate the mackerel put the pasta mixture in the middle of your plate place the mackerel on top dress with a bit of the chorizo oil and add the fennel cress as a garnish around the plate. 
 
 
 

Squid, European

Demersal Trawl

Celtic Sea

Squid are targeted by demersal trawls using smaller mesh sizes during certain times of year. This is a less selective method than jigging and trawl gear has an impact on the seabed and some issues with bycatch of non target species.

Hook and line

Cornwall

Handlining for squid with lures is also known as jigging. It is a selective low impact method that produces the finest quality fresh catch.

Mackerel

Ring Netting

Cornish waters VIIe, f, g and h

Ring nets are used to encircle a shoal of pelagic fish. the main target species are sardines and anchovies but occasionally there is a by catch of mackerel landed.

Gill Netting

Cornwall

Gill nets are used during winter months on the south coast to target mackerel.

Hook and line

Cornwall areas VIIe and VIIf

Mackerel handling is a low impact, selective method of fishing using hook and line.

Seaweed

Hand Collection

Cornish coastal water

Seaweed is hand collected on a small scale with minimal impact at current low levels. current methodology does not allow seaweed to be rated using MCS ratings system, however it is recommended by Cornwall Good Seafood Guide.

Farmed

Cornwall

Seaweed is being farmed in Cornwall on a small scale but there are plans to upscale in the future. The current MCS methodology does not allow seaweed to be rated, however it is recommended by Cornwall Good Seafood Guide

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Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is underpinned by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide. The first UK consumer guide to sustainable seafood. For more information visit www.fishonline.org

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