There are mackerel fillets in the fridge in a blue-grey dish, their skin silver, black and blue, under a tangle of pink onions, mustard seeds and juniper berries. Their flesh soft and “cooked” by spending the night in their bath of tarragon vinegar, sea salt, sugar and bay. They will be on the table soon with doorstops of dark rye bread and a bowl of potato salad – a proper one with steamed skin-on potatoes, good mayonnaise (more mustard) and feathers of dill.
There is much to be said for food that waits for us: a coarse pork terrine that sleeps in the fridge, to cut as you need to eat with pickles and toast; a bean and vegetable soup whose flavours mellow overnight and can be reheated as you wish; a late-summer pudding with blackberries and raspberries to cut-and-come-again over several days.
Also in the fridge this week is an easygoing cake batter that has rested overnight to bake into soft, shallow cakes, nutty, buttery and crunchy with demerara. We ate them with late plums and their tart, scarlet juices.
Neither recipe is time-sensitive: the mackerel will keep for a day or two; the batter for the cakes can be baked any time the day after you make it. You can bake the same day if you wish, but your cakes will be ill-shaped and frothy. Like the mackerel, they will be better for a rest.
Marinated mackerel
A useful dish to have in the fridge. I use stainless steel or enamelled saucepans and dishes rather than aluminium, which would react with the vinegar. Sometimes, I serve the fish warm. As soon as you have poured the marinade on to the mackerel, bake it for about 20 minutes, at 180C/gas mark 4, then serve it in some of its juices with sauté potatoes. Serves 3
mackerel 3, filleted
red onion 1, small
tarragon vinegar 150ml
white vermouth or white wine 50ml
juniper berries 12
yellow mustard seeds 1 tsp
white peppercorns 6
black peppercorns 12
caster sugar 1 tbsp
bay leaves 3
Rinse the mackerel fillets and pat dry with kitchen paper. Lay them in a shallow dish (not aluminium).
Peel the onion, slice it thinly and put it in a saucepan with the vinegar, vermouth or white wine, juniper berries, yellow mustard seeds and peppercorns. Add the sugar, bay leaves and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
As the marinade comes to the boil, pour over the fillets of mackerel then add enough water to just cover the fish. Cover with a plate or a piece of kitchen film, then set aside to cool.
When the fish is cool, refrigerate overnight then serve.
Baked plums and brown butter demerara cakes
The idea of tiny cakes, made of brown butter and demerara, is from Anna Higham’s book The Last Bite and whose new bakery, Quince, I await impatiently.
I have been making variations of them over the summer, using rye flour, toasted hazelnuts, adding a grating of lemon zest – and generally playing with Anna’s idea to the point where they have now become this kitchen’s go-to small cakes. I must endorse the note in her original recipe to make the mixture the day before, it really does produce a better cake. If you have rye flour use it, if not, plain white is fine. Makes 12 small cakes.
For the cakes:
butter 125g
demerara sugar 65g
soft brown sugar 65g
finely ground hazelnuts 50g
white rye flour 20g
cornflour 20g
egg whites 4
For the plums:
plums 400g
caster sugar 75g
water 100ml
You will also need a tray of 12 small, non-stick patty tins.
In a small, deep saucepan, melt the butter over a moderate heat, watching carefully as it bubbles and darkens. When the milk solids at the bottom have turned a toasty golden brown and the butter smells warm and nutty, remove from the heat and pour into a small heatproof bowl to cool.
Stir together the demerara and soft brown sugar, the ground hazelnuts, the flour and the cornflour, then crumble in a generous pinch of salt. Make that two.
Beat the egg whites with a balloon whisk until thick and frothy – they should be thick enough to sit in soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the flour and sugars, mixing slowly and thoroughly so there are no visible streaks of egg white. Check that the butter is cool but still liquid, then stir into the batter, mix well then cover and refrigerate for at least six hours. (Overnight will not hurt.)
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Butter the bun tins, then sprinkle them generously with demerara sugar and shake off any surplus. The sugar will prevent them sticking but also give a crunchy edge to the cakes. Divide the mixture equally between the patty tins and bake for 12 minutes till soft, golden and lightly risen.
Leave the cakes to settle for 10-15 minutes then run a palette knife around the edge of each, slide under each cake and remove to a cooling rack.
For the plums, place the fruit, whole or halved and stones removed, in a deep sided frying pan, sprinkle with sugar and pour over the water, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and leave them for 7-10 minutes till soft and on the verge of collapse. There should be plenty of juices. Serve warm with the little cakes.
We aim to publish recipes for fish rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide
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