Windward Mackerel and Citrus Salad with Fennel and Toasted Coriander
Fresh mackerel seared until the skin blisters, laid over orange, grapefruit, and paper-thin fennel with toasted coriander in the dressing.
The parts that change whether this works tonight.
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- Servings
- 4 as a starter
- Timing
- 20 minutes
- Equipment
- Not separately declared
- Make-ahead
- Not separately declared
- Holding
- Not separately declared
- Leftovers
- Not separately declared
- Dietary notes
- Not separately declared
- Method map
- 9 ingredient lines · 5 method steps
Pairing
Wine — Txakoli or Muscadet. Mixed drink — Fino sherry and tonic with orange peel. Teetotaler — Fennel-orange soda with coriander. Oily fish and citrus want something mineral and cold.
Tools
A very sharp knife for the citrus and a bowl underneath it to catch juice. Mandoline or a slow careful hand for the fennel. A dry skillet for the coriander seeds and a rip-hot one for the fish. Fish spatula if you have it.
Ingredients · swaps in parentheses
Oranges, grapefruit, fennel bulb with fronds, fresh mackerel fillets (Spanish mackerel or bluefish), coriander seeds, sherry vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, parsley, flaky salt, black pepper
Magic
You go to the trouble of catching every drop of citrus juice and then the recipe asks for two tablespoons of it. Take the rest, pour it into the coriander skillet once the seeds are out, and boil it hard until only a couple of syrupy spoonfuls are left in the bottom, dark and slightly bitter. Let it cool, then use it in place of half the fresh juice. Reduced citrus carries weight that raw citrus does not, and weight is what lets a thin vinaigrette hold its ground against a fish this oily. Not feeling brave? Reduce it anyway and whisk it in a teaspoon at a time until the dressing stops tasting like it is floating.
Gotcha
Mackerel spoils faster than almost any fish at the counter because of its oil content. Buy it the day you cook it, look for clear bulging eyes and firm bright flesh, and if it smells of anything beyond cold seawater, walk away.
Mackerel has an unearned reputation for being difficult. It is not difficult. It is assertive, which is a different thing, and the people who dislike it have almost always eaten it old or eaten it buried under something trying to apologize for it.
Fresh mackerel, cooked hard and fast and served against citrus, is one of the better things you can put on a plate for under ten dollars. The oil that makes it perishable is also what makes it taste like something. Give it acid and bitterness and enough room on the platter, and it does not need help.
Serves: 4 as a starter
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 oranges
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
- 4 fresh mackerel fillets, about 12 ounces total
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for the pan
- 1/4 cup parsley or fennel fronds
- Flaky salt and black pepper
Method
- Break down the citrus. Cut the peel and all the white pith from the oranges and grapefruit, then slice them into rounds over a bowl so you catch every drop of juice.
- Toast the coriander. Warm the seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they smell nutty and start to hop, about 90 seconds. Crush them roughly in a mortar or under the flat of a knife. For the magic version, pour the surplus citrus juice into the empty skillet here and boil it down to a couple of syrupy spoonfuls, then set it aside to cool.
- Sear the mackerel. Pat the fillets bone dry and salt them. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet until it shimmers, lay the fillets skin-side down, and press them flat for the first ten seconds. Cook 3 minutes without moving them, until the skin releases and is crisp, then flip for 30 seconds and take the pan off the heat.
- Whisk the dressing. Combine 2 tablespoons of the reserved citrus juice with the vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, crushed coriander, and black pepper.
- Build it loosely. Layer the citrus rounds and fennel across a platter. Lay the mackerel over in large pieces, skin up, and spoon the dressing around rather than over the crisp skin. Finish with herbs and a restrained pinch of flaky salt.
Supreming versus slicing
Rounds are the better choice here even though supremes look tidier. Cutting across the whole fruit leaves the membranes intact, which means each slice holds its shape on the platter and gives a little resistance rather than dissolving into juice the moment a fork arrives. You also lose less fruit.
Take the pith off seriously. Any white left behind is bitter in a dull way that has nothing to offer, unlike grapefruit bitterness, which is bright and structural. Stand the fruit on a flat end and cut down following the curve, then go back for the patches you missed.
The skin is the point
Mackerel skin, properly crisped, is one of the best textures in fish cookery: thin, blistered, faintly bitter, with all that oil rendered out from underneath it. Getting there requires a dry fillet, a hot pan, and the discipline to leave it alone for the full three minutes.
The fillets will want to curl the moment they hit the heat, because the skin contracts faster than the flesh. Press them flat with a spatula for the first ten seconds and they will stay down. When the skin is properly crisp it releases from the pan on its own; if you are fighting to lift it, it is not ready.
The flip is almost ceremonial. Thirty seconds on the flesh side finishes the interior, and anything longer dries it out. Spanish mackerel is milder and works identically. Bluefish is stronger still and needs a heavier hand with the citrus.
Fennel wants to be nearly transparent
Thick fennel is a chore to chew and its anise flavor arrives as a blunt hit. Sliced thin enough to see light through, it turns into something delicate and almost floral that reads as a texture rather than a vegetable. A mandoline does this in seconds and a knife can do it if you take your time.
Slice it late, or hold it in ice water for ten minutes to keep it crisp and curling. Save the fronds. They taste more strongly of anise than the bulb does and are better than parsley in this particular dish.
Serving, and the bread question
Grilled bread belongs here, but beside the salad rather than underneath it. Mackerel oil and citrus juice are persuasive liquids and toast has limits. Let people tear off pieces and mop as they go.
This does not keep. The skin softens within twenty minutes and the fennel goes limp, so make it when the people eating it are already in the room. If you need to work ahead, the citrus can be sliced and the dressing whisked up to two hours out, held separately, with the fish cooked at the last minute.
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