Few restaurant menus in the 1970s were without some sort of a mackerel dish, be it fried and marinated "escabeche", a little pot of smoked mackerel pâté and some hot toast or a plate of fish that had been soused with vinegar and onions. The latter is a rare find inBritish restaurants now, but is easily made at home. The light, bright-tasting marinated fish will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge.
THE RECIPE
Check 3 filleted, fresh mackerel carefully for any bones. (A pair of kitchen tweezers can be useful in to removinge them.) Peel and thinly slice 1 onion and 1 carrot and put them in a saucepan with 150ml of white-wine vinegar, 220ml of water, a few sprigs of parsley, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp each of salt and sugar, 6 black peppercorns and 5 juniper berries, lightly crushed. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and then simmer for 10 minutes or until the onion and carrot are approaching softness. Add the fish and a few tufts of dill to the liquid, simmer for 30 seconds then turn off the heat. Leave to cool, cover with kitchen film and refrigerate overnight. Serve with dark rye bread, thickly sliced. Serves 3.
THE TRICK
Use spankingly fresh fish and, just as crucially, don't overcook it. The fillets should be tender but firm enough to require a knife and fork with which to eat them. The marinade should be salty and sour, otherwise the dish will lack bite.
THE TWIST
Use a sharp, unfiltered apple juice with some of the vinegar and serve the fillets with a crisp apple salad. Make a Japanese version using rice vinegar, mirin, salt and caster sugar. Serve with sticky rice and a smear of super-hot wasabi. Herring or sardines will work here, too.