Salt Crusted fish

The gorgeous blue shimmering pattern of mackerel.

An old preparation for a new lot.  That lot is my family and hopefully soon yours!  In the 1990's Clarissa Dickson Wright (The blonde of the Two Fat Ladies) with all her ancient recipe collecting knowledge brought to the forefront some amazing recipes.  This is a favorite.  This is up there with smoked fish (cold and hot smoked) for me.

Clarissa uses her favorite fish and other fillings.  Sea Trout and I think dill fronds. So, go nuts.  The only thing that I don't recommend is making the outer crust any more difficult.  I've gone through some "fancy" rehashes of Clarissa prep and it is a lot more fuss for a not-better result.  Try it with Snapper and hot chilis if you wish, just keep the exterior simple in the name of kitchen sanity and anti-wastefulness.

I used quite possibly the most sustainable of all Ocean fish that has a horrible reputation for being "fishy" - that fish is Mackerel.  It is abused by being canned and used as a feeder fish for all sorts of animal foods and the impoverished.  I would like to clear this fish's good name because this fish has a few things going for it 1.) its numbers are VERY high and doing well.  This can't be said for many fish on the market. 2.) This fish is cheap because very few folks understand how incredible it is 3.)  This fish tastes smoked and buttery. 4.) This is a "fatty" fish meaning no saturated fats and high in Omega 3 fatty acid, good for your hair, skin, heart, blood circulation, especially the brain and a load of other things including anti-cancer properties. This fish must be eaten the day of catch or immediately cured or frozen.  It is highly recommended by another favorite chef of mine, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (of River Cottage fame) for smoking, drying, curing.  He does all this with it and even cooks it directly on the beach.   I figured this fish would really shine with this old-styled prep Clarissa gave me since Hugh uses it in simple applications.  What I didn't know is that this fish would have a smoked flavor BY ITSELF!  I was astonished at how buttery rich and smokey this fish turned out.  Thank God this is an unpopular fish because it was 5.99 a lb.  Making my monster mackerel a whopping 8.50 and could have easily fed 4 very hungry souls. More with sides and what have yous.

For this magic you'll need:

1 to 1 1/2 Cups Coarse Sea Salt
Your choice of fish (preferably an oily or fatty fish like trout or salmon if you don't have mackerel)
1/4 - 1/2 Cup of whatever herbs you wish to use

I cut the head off behind the gill and tossed it in a pot with 1/2 Cup water for the puppy.
I then gut the fish and removed the tail (you can leave the head and tail on for dinner parties as it does a fancy fine job of making you look nifty) and rinsed the stomach cavity with cool water.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In my pan I placed about a 1/4 -1/2 inch "fish shaped" pile of coarse sea salt. Lay the fish on the salt bed you prepped.

I removed the tiny forefins for ease of eating later.

 Fill the cavity with whatever flavorful herbs, or onions you like.  I used chopped leek and parsley.

Cover the top of the fish in another 1/4 - 1/2 inch of coarse sea salt.

Using very wet fingers sprinkle the salted top with water this will keep the salt from sliding off the top of the fish while it cooks.  It will create a crust which when you remove it will pull the skin with it and unveil the loveliest baked fish you've ever had the pleasure of dining on.

Place in the oven and leave for at least 40 minutes.  You can stab through your salt crust into the fish with a knife to test it and if the tip of the knife is hot then your fish is cooked.  If not put in for another 10 minutes.

The time depends mostly on the size of the fish, but any caramelizing you witness will tell you your fish is done.  This is also a tough recipe to overcook since the goodness is rather sealed in until you crack the crust.

Crack this baby open in front of guests and watch their faces glow like Christmas morning.  (Or of course your holiday what-have-yous) The interior will be soft enough to spoon or spatulate from the skeleton.  Simply remove the spine once visible and be mindful of remaining bones.

I served this with chimichurri (minced parsley with olive oil)  over rice and an over easy egg to spill it's yolky goodness all over my fish and rice.  It was heavenly.  It isn't pictured because we had to smell this amazing food and couldn't handle it any longer.

Potato pancake

These little guys are quite lovely and can be made tiny for fancy dinner or larger for house-ing among casual company.  You need a very warm skillet before you pour these in and they'll flip like a charm. If your pan is too cool then the cake heats up with the pan and then it melds itself to the cooking surface.  If you like you can oil your pan lightly.  I recommend safflower oil or grapeseed oil -- something suitable for high heat.  Olive oil when heating to the point of popping, smoking or stinking becomes riddled with nasty things that you don't want to feed the family with.

Batter:

• 3 eggs
• 1 small russet or yukon gold (you can halve a larger one and stuff the rest in the fridge)
• 2-4 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1 medium leek washed and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 red pepper diced or minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste

Chop potato and boil until tender.  Reserve a little water from boiling the potato, enough to mash the potato into it, and add your oil.  Blend until smooth.  In another bowl put flour, baking soda, veg, salt, pepper and egg and lightly whisk until combined.  Add the potato mixture once it is cooled to tepid and beat senseless until silky.  Heat pan and pour to size you wish.  Bubbles may appear like you see in breakfast pancakes, edges will dry a touch and you should without much effort get your flipper in there and flip.  I heat the oven to 150 just to keep the cakes warm until all are finished.

Horseradish sauce:
For this, the horseradish is a little acidic and acids plus protein makes the breakdown so I recommend making and eating this fresh and do not add citrus like so many recipes call for you'll feel better for it.

• 1 Cup whole milk Yogurt (I use Fage Whole Milk Greek Yogurt, and this will make A LOT for a family for 2 or fewer I recommend halving or quartering)
• 1 inch chunk of horseradish, cleaned and peeled then grated finely (be a little cautious because it makes you cry like watching a Paulie Shore film)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend all together and put into the fridge.  If horseradish is not your thing, you can make the dish both lovely and spicy by adding cayenne pepper, chili powder, or for a real kick, chipotle pepper, etc.  The pancakes are also great without any sauce at all.

I served these with sauteed spinach and applesauce on the side.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I LOVE horseradish sauce with applesauce.  It makes it seem more potent yet calms the heat.

I use Solana Gold Organic applesauce because it is JUST APPLES. The way applesauce is supposed to be.  (The link is meant to show you how it looks not to trick you into buying it. )