Mackerel Nicoise

Serves 6

You will need:

• 1-2 mackerel fillets per person

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 50ml white wine vinegar

• 175ml extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon torn fresh basil, plus a few small basil leaves

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 10-12 medium-sized new potatoes

— see my Top Tip, above

• 100g French beans

• 3-6 eggs, depending on the portion sizes (allow ½ to 1 egg per person)

• 4 ripe tomatoes or 12 cherry tomatoes

• 8 spring onions

• 1 crisp lettuce, separated into leaves

• 12 black olives, stones removed

• 1 teaspoon capers

• 1 tin anchovies, drained

• 25g butter, softened or

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Some chive flowers or borage flowers to garnish (optional)

1 First, season the mackerel fillets with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and chill them until you are ready to cook.

2 Next, make the French dressing (when the potatoes and the beans are cooked, they’ll need to be dressed while they are warm to absorb the flavours). To make the dressing, put the white wine vinegar, the extra-virgin olive oil, the crushed or finely grated garlic, whichever you’re using, the Dijon mustard, the chopped fresh parsley and the torn fresh basil in a bowl or a small blender.

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside.

3 Cook the new potatoes in boiling salted water until they are tender — about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, cut them into slices or wedges. While the potatoes are still warm, toss them in a couple of tablespoonfuls of the French dressing, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4 Add a good pinch of sea salt to a small saucepan of water, place the pan on a high heat and bring it to the boil. Tip the French beans in and cook them, uncovered, for about 4 minutes until they are almost tender, then drain them and toss them in another tablespoonful of the French dressing. Cut the beans into shorter lengths, or in half if you wish, and set them aside.

5 Next, put the eggs in another small pot of boiling water and boil them for seven minutes for soft-boiled yolks, or 10 minutes for hard-boiled egg yolks. When

the eggs are ready, pour cold water over them to stop them cooking, then peel them (see Rachel Recommends, left) and cut them into halves or quarters.

6 Cut the tomatoes into chunks or wedges, and slice the spring onions at an angle and set them aside.

7 Take the seasoned mackerel fillets out of the fridge and put a frying pan over a medium heat.

8 Line a shallow bowl with the lettuce leaves and arrange the dressed potatoes, the dressed beans, the eggs, the tomatoes, and the sliced spring onions over the top. Scatter over the olives, the capers and the anchovy fillets.

9 Dry each mackerel fillet with kitchen paper. If you are using the 25g butter, sparingly spread a little of it on the flesh side of each fillet. If you’re using using the extra-virgin olive oil, drizzle it straight into the hot pan. Turn the heat up to high and place the mackerel, flesh-side down, on the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, then turn it over and cook it on the other side until the skin is crispy and golden. Cook all the mackerel fillets this way.

10 Drizzle some more French dressing over the salad in the bowl and toss it really gently. Scatter it with chive flowers or borage flowers, if you are using them. Serve the salad with one or two fillets of mackerel criss-crossed on top of each salad, or leave the salad in the bowl, arrange the cooked mackerel fillets on top, and serve straight away.