SYLVIA TAN shows you how to whip up a tasty and healthy one-dish meal of baked mackerel in just half an hour. 
"Picture provided by SPH"
Cooking fish is not simple. While it is healthy food, I always pick my fish carefully – not just for freshness, but also because of mercury and over-fishing concerns. For me, there is also the challenge of trying to tempt those in my family who ordinarily will not eat fish, unless the dish is tasty enough. Conveniently, fish that are not endangered are also low in mercury. However, on the endangered list are the very popular (and overfished) tuna, swordfish, marlin and tasty giant mackerel or
batang. However, there is good news. There is a fish that gets around all these worries – the small Japanese mackerel, also known as saba. Not only is the saba mackerel healthy, it is also flavourful and tasty. One bite and you will be sold. At least I was, when my brother cooked it for me years ago. He merely rubbed salt into a fillet and grilled it. It is now my fish of choice at Japanese
restaurants, either grilled or salted. I was reminded how much I liked this fish when I ate it at a French restaurant recently. It was served Mediterranean-style with capers, tomatoes and olives. Coincidentally, this small mackerel was on sale at my fishmonger’s stall, so I bought it for dinner. You can also find it at the Japanese section of some
supermarkets. I decided to bake my mackerel fillet with red bell peppers and onions, making an easy one-dish meal. The colour gives a nice contrast and the sweetness of the
peppers and onions complements the fish. All it takes is half an hour to make a balanced meal. Just be mindful of the timing if you want the flesh perfectly done – that is, soft and moist. Peppers, onions and balsamic vinegar add a welcome sweetness and tartness to the rich fish. Mackerel, above other fish, contains a lot of Omega-3 oil – as much as sardines. This lowers the risk of heart attack and wards off dementia and stroke in the elderly. Cooking fish just became simple again. Ingredients: Baked mackerel with roasted red peppers and onions (For two) - 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion, peeled
- 2 saba mackerel fillets
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
Method: - Place the ingredients for the spice paste in a food chopper and process till fine.
- Heat oven to 200 deg C.
- Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and white ribs within. Slice pepper and onion in thick strips.
- Add ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the vegetables and mix well.
- Place vegetables on an oven tray and roast uncovered for 15 minutes or until soft and charred in parts.
- Remove vegetables and return tray to the oven.
- Turn heat down to 180 deg C.
- Rub fish fillets with one teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste.
- Place on the heated oven tray and bake for five minutes or more if you prefer it well done.
- Serve baked fish on a bed of roasted peppers and onions.
- Finish with a swirl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste and serve at once with a green salad on the side for a tasty low-calorie meal.
|