Pan-Fried Mackerel, Beetroot & Dill

📝 Ingredients

• 4 fresh mackerel fillets, skin on (about 80 g each)
• 400 g waxy potatoes
• 2 cooked beetroots (about 150 g each)
• 10 g unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil
• 150 g 2% Greek yoghurt
• 15 g fresh dill (about ½ packet)
• ½ lemon (for the juice)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Steamer or steamer basket
• Frying pan
• Non-stick frying pan
• Spatula
• Bowl
• Fish bone tweezers or ordinary tweezers

📖 Steps

1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into evenly sized pieces (about 4 cm) and steam them for 20 to 25 min, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance. Without a steamer, cook them for 15 to 18 min in simmering salted water.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: finely chop the dill, keeping a few sprigs for the end, then mix it into the Greek yoghurt with the juice of the half lemon, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Keep in the fridge until serving.
3. Cut the cooked beetroot into wedges or 2 cm dice, ideally on a plate so as not to stain the board, then pat dry with kitchen paper so they brown instead of stewing in their juice.
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the beetroot and fry for 4 to 5 min, stirring. Pour in the cider vinegar and honey, season with salt and leave to reduce for 2 min, until the beetroot is glossy and well coated. Keep warm.
5. Pat the mackerel fillets thoroughly dry with kitchen paper, especially on the skin side, and run a finger over the flesh to find any remaining bones and remove them with tweezers. Score the skin 2 or 3 times without cutting into the flesh, then salt both sides.
6. Heat the oil in the non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Lay the fillets skin side down and press them for 10 s with a spatula so they stay flat. Cook for 3 to 4 min without touching, until the flesh is opaque almost to the top and the skin is crisp.
7. Turn the fillets over and cook them for just 30 s to 1 min on the flesh side, simply to finish cooking: overcooked mackerel turns dry. Meanwhile, take the potatoes out of the steamer basket (or drain them) and salt them lightly.
8. Arrange the potatoes, beetroot and mackerel fillets on plates, crispy skin facing up. Spoon the dill yoghurt sauce over the potatoes, scatter with the reserved dill sprigs and serve immediately.