Horse mackerel with tomato and jalapeno pepper

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Now let`s have our food talk.
It`s been a while since I posted fish recipes, so today I`d like to share one using horse mackerel or "aji" in Japanese. I usually buy the ready-to-use butterflied aji, which is very easy to find at our nearby stores, because handling fish from scratch still won`t budge from my to-avoid list.

Anyway, since this dish was for our Saturday`s brunch where I wasn`t even sure if I was fully awake when I made it, it won`t take rocket science to whip it up within 30 min assuming that you use ready-to-use fish or fish fillet. After all, I know nothing about rocket, anyway. 

Here`s the fish where they are already cleaned and butterflied. But I rinsed them again and patted dry with kitchen paper.

Lightly dust the fish with corn starch to help it crisp up and hold its shape during frying later.

And by frying, I mean add a bit of olive oil on a frying pan over medium heat and put the starch-coated fish there.

I love hearing something sizzling on Saturday morning. Anytime before 12 is morning, right?

When the fish has turned white and curled in, set them aside on a plate. 

The chars were unintentional and I love how they made the grilly look on the fish.

I won`t blame you if you add salt to the fried fish and then..poof! They`re gone. It`s not your fault.

But if you can hold yourself a bit, here`s a little extra work Parsley, cherry tomatoes, and lemon.

Those colors are what my eyes need to open up. I feel healthy already just looking at them.

Chop up parsley and tomato, but leave a few whole tomatoes for serving later. Stir in olive oil and squeeze in lemon juice. Add the zest too if you want. Throw in sliced pickled jalapeno peppers and season with salt and black pepper.

Stir everything to combine and adjust the seasoning to your liking. When you`re done, add it to the fried fish you prepared earlier.

The fish is crispy on the outside but still juicy inside and the addition of sweet-tangy-hot salsa will make you chew them up quicker and add more on your plate. My husband enjoyed this with a plate of rice, but I wish I had some baked potatoes that day. It seems like I have to recreate this soon!

Print recipe

HORSE MACKEREL WITH TOMATO AND JALAPENO PEPPER

Serves two persons

Ingredients:

4 horse mackerel, cleaned and butterflied

1-2 Tbs corn starch for dusting

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

2-3 whole cherry tomatoes

2 Tbs lemon juice

1 cup chopped parsley

3 Tbs sliced pickled jalapeno pepper

1 Tbs olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

Method:

1. Clean and butterfly horse mackerel. Lightly rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper.

2. Lightly dust the fish with corn starch.

3. Add a bit of olive oil on a frying pan over medium heat and fry the fish.

4. When the fish has turned white and curled in, set them aside on a plate. 

5. In a bowl, stir chopped parsley and tomato, olive oil, lemon juice (add the zest too if you want), and sliced jalapeno pepper. 

6. Season with salt and black pepper. 

7. Serve the fish with the tomato and jalapeno salsa.