Mackerel escabeche

My perfect evening involves being bathed in the salt spray of my native Devon coastline, casting a line in hope (rather than expectation), while the sun slips behind the cliffs. The first few fish (should fortune shine) would be cooked over a driftwood fire, and any spare would likely be for this, a day later. There are as many variations on this wonderful vinegar-infused stew as there are fish, but in my eyes mackerel makes the best one. I hope you think so too. SERVES 4

8 mackerel fillets, pin

bones removed

Sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

2tbsp plain flour

3tbsp olive oil

Pared zest and juice

of 1 orange

FOR THE ESCABECHE 1 carrot, peeled and very

thinly sliced

1 onion, very thinly sliced 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed

and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 200ml white wine

200ml water

1tsp coriander seeds

½tsp fennel seeds

2 bay leaves

Big sprig of thyme

1 dried red chilli (or use

chilli flakes)

3tbsp olive oil

80ml red wine vinegar (or use either white wine or cider vinegars if you prefer)

1 To make the escabeche, mix together all the ingredients in a wide pan. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave the mixture to cook over a very gentle heat for 10min. Season to taste with salt and pepper and leave to one side.

2 Season the mackerel fillets with a little salt and pepper, then dust them in the flour. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the fillets over a medium heat for 2min each side until cooked through (you may need to do this in batches), then place in a non-reactive dish.

3 Bring the escabeche back to a simmer, then pour over the fish along with all the flavourings. Stir in the strips of orange zest and the juice and leave to cool, then chill in the fridge for 2 hours. The longer the mackerel sits in the escabeche with the vegetables, the more the flavour will develop.

4 Serve the fish with some of the dressing, vegetables and bread, if you fancy.