My summer mackerel with new potatoes, seasonal raspberries and foraged samphire is a refreshing lunch dish for a warm, sunny day. Enjoy with a crisp, cold glass of rosé and some crusty bread if desired. Try and source the best ingredients you can – you’ll really taste the difference with local, best quality produce and will come back to this tasty recipe time after time.

Whole Mackerel, Potatoes & Raspberries by Richard Bainbridge

Serves 2

www.restaurantbenedicts.com

 

Ingredients:

2 Whole Mackerel, Gutted & Cleaned

• 1 Lemon, Cut into Wedges

• 2 Good Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

2 Fresh Bay Leaves

• 6 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled

• 100g Samphire

A Handful of Cleaned New Potatoes, Cooked in Salted, Lemon Water

• 1 Small Punnet of Raspberries

• A Few Handfuls of Watercress

• A Knob of butter

• A Splash of Oil

• Salt & Pepper

Method:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
  • Season the mackerel inside and out with salt and pepper, then cut three diagonal slashes on each side of the fish.
  • Pop a wedge of lemon, garlic, sprig of thyme and bay leaf inside each cavity.
  • Transfer to a generous, well-oiled roasting dish and put into the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the flesh easily pulls away from the bone.
  • Blanch the samphire in boiling water for 60 seconds, then cool in iced water. Drain and set aside.
  • When the fish is almost cooked through, heat a knob of butter with a dash of oil in a frying pan until it begins to foam.
  • Add the samphire and cook for 2 minutes.

To serve:

  • Place your fish onto a plate or board with the warmed new potatoes on the side, along with the watercress.
  • Pour the buttery samphire over your warmed potatoes and fish.
  • Garnish with ripped raspberries and the remaining lemon wedges, then dig in and enjoy all the delicious, zingy tastes of summer.