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Fillet of Mackerel with shaved fennel salad and soy lime dressing

From Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets (BBC): http://www.raymondblanc.com/
Serves 4

For the mackerel
4 Mackerel fillets, pin bones removed, skin scored (*1)
For the pickle
2g Pink peppercorns, crushed
1g Coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1.5g Salt
250ml White wine vinegar
250ml Water
40g Caster sugar
35g Shallot or Rred onion, sliced thinly
25g Lemon slices
10g Coriander stalks
For the fennel salad
150g Fennel, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced on a Japanese mandolin*2 (Rreserve in iced water for 20 minutes*3)
6ml/1 tsp Llime juice, freshly squeezed
20ml/4 tsp Oolive oil, Eextra Vvirgin
5g/1 tsp Salt
15g Rocket, wild
6g/6 pinches Gground white pepper
6g/1 tsp Fennel seeds, soaked in warm water for 2 hrs & toasted in a dry pan.
For soy lime dressing
15g Water
15g/2 tbsp Soy sauce, (Kkikkoman)
10g/1 tbsp dark Muscovado sugar
5g/1 tsp Fresh ginger, finely chopped
3g/ ½ tsp Llime juice

For the mackerel

For the mackerel, heat the white wine vinegar, water, coriander root, caster sugar, red onion and peppercorns in a non-reactive saucepan over a medium heat. Heat the mixture until it is just about to simmer. Squeeze in the lemon juice, then transfer the pan contents to a flat, shallow container and set aside to cool.

When the mixture has cooled, place four of the mackerel fillets into the container, flesh-side down. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the grill to its highest setting.

When the 4 mackerel fillets have marinated, remove them from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper

Brush a baking tray all over with clarified butter. Arrange the mackerel fillets onto the greased tray, skin-sides facing upwards. Place under the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and the flesh is cooked through.

For the fennel salad and soy lime dressing

Whisk the soy sauce, water and half of the lime juice together in a bowl until well combined. Add the ginger and muscovado sugar and whisk again.

Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat until hot, then add the 1 soaked fennel seeds and dry fry for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

Mix together the drained fennel slices, olive oil and the remaining lime 2 juice in a large bowl until combined. Add the mizzuna leaves and half of the cooled, toasted fennel seeds and mix again to combine.

To serve

To serve, divide the fennel salad equally among 4 serving plates. 3 Place one grilled fillet of fresh mackerel and one grilled fillet of marinated mackerel on top of each portion. Spoon the salad dressing around the edge of the plate. Scatter over the remaining toasted fennel seeds.

Chef’s Notes: (*)

*1 Scoring the skin prevents the mackerel fillet from curling up during cooking and allows the flavours of the marinade to penetrate into the flesh.

*2 Slice the fennel finely, just before use

*3 The iced water will crisp up the fennel giving it a great texture & remove some of the sugars which can be too pronounced.