A elegant and delicious taste of the Med, from Gérald Passedat
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 mackerel
For the broth
- ½ carrot
- ¾ oz. (20 g) celery
- 1 ½ oz. (40 g) leek
- Passedat olive oil*
- 1 lemon
- 4 ½ tablespoons (65 ml) Passedat lemon vinegar*
- Scant ¼ cup (50 ml) white wine
- 1 sprig parsley
- 2 black peppercorns
- 2 ½ cups (600 ml) water
To complete the dish
- 1 yellow carrot
- 1 orange carrot
- 1 white carrot
- Chive flowers
- ½ black radish
- A few tiny florets purple cauliflower
- A few chives
- A few sprigs dill
- A few sprigs chervil
Directions
1To make the broth, roughly chop the carrot, celery, and leek. Put them in a large saucepan with a splash of olive oil and sweat over a low heat. Peel the lemon thinly and add the peel to the pan with the lemon vinegar, wine, parsley, peppercorns, and water. Increase the heat and boil steadily for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine mesh sieve and reserve the broth.
2Clean the mackerel, remove the heads, and wash them. Fillet the fish, pulling out any remaining bones with tweezers, and then remove the skins. Cut the fillets in half lengthways and roll each one into a spiral shape.
3Shave the carrots into thin strips. Cut the black radish into wafer-thin rounds.
4Arrange three spirals of mackerel on each plate and spoon the lemon broth around. Add the carrot strips, chive flowers, black radish, purple cauliflower florets, and the herbs. Finally, drizzle with olive oil.
CHEF’S NOTE
The lemon broth will taste better if it is chilled. Place the broth on ice for a few minutes before serving. A perfect dish for summer.
From Flavors from the French Mediterranean by Gérald Passedat (Flammarion, 2016). Photography © Richard Haughton.
