Crisp-skinned Spanish mackerel with plum agrodolce

This recipe is as much about the versatility of plums as it is a crisp-skin fish cooking technique. If you don’t have a fish weight – we can use a pot to weigh the fish down and keep the skin flat on the pan.

Credit: Danielle Abou Karam

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 Spanish mackerel fillets, about 200 g, skin on, pin-boned
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) ghee
• sea salt, to taste
• 1 head radicchio, halved

Plum agrodolce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 French shallots, finely diced
• 150 ml white wine vinegar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
• 1 tbsp currants
• 4 plums, pitted and quartered
• 30 g caster sugar

Instructions

1. For the plum agrodolce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook gently, without colouring, until very soft. Add the remaining ingredients and 60 ml (¼ cup) water and stir to combine well. Increase the heat to medium and cook until mixture has reduced by three-quarters. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. Lay the fish fillets on a work surface and dust the skin sides with rice flour. Place each fillet, flesh-side down, on a sheet of baking paper large enough to cover the fillets.
4. Heat a heavy-based, oven-proof frying pan over medium-high heat and add the ghee. When the pan is hot and the ghee is translucent, place the fillets in the pan, skin-side down, leaving the paper on the flesh side. Place a fish weight (or a 1-kg weight such as a heavy saucepan) on top of the fillets and cook for 2 minutes, lifting the weight once or twice and moving the fillets gently around the pan so they don't burn. Remove the weight and transfer the pan to the oven for 4 minutes. Take the fish from the oven and remove the paper. Using a spatula, gently turn the fillets over and rest for 2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat a chargrill to high. Grill the radicchio until very light charred. Place the fish and radicchio leaves on serving plates and spoon the plum agrodolce over the radicchio and part of the mackerel. Serve immediately.

 

Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.