Saturday, July 7, 2012

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!
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. 

13 comments:

  1. Very summery dish Arudhi very refreshing way to cook fish!

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    1. Hi, Katerina, now you said that, it does look summery to me :D

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  2. This looks fantastic.

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  3. I like this post and the fish looks amazing. I just pan fried some fish tonight for dinner, I needed to add all the extras like you did! Yum!

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    1. Hi Lyndsey, you should try it next time you plan to pan-fry fish. Hope you like it!

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  4. あぁ~、お魚はやっぱり日本のが美味しそうだわ。ちょっと辛そうだけど、夏にピッタリのレシピですね。そしてなんといっても、このプチトマト、日本の赤いトマトって本当に赤くて美しいー。丸くて美味しそうだ・・・。

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    1. いつもコメントありがとうございました!え?向こうにはプチトマトがないんですか?プチトマトは大好きです!甘くてジューシですね ^^

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  5. I love this original but easy (from what I see) way to serve horse mackerel. And so summery too. It's one of my favourite fish species and jalapeños can only make it better.
    You are so lucky! If I wanted to buy butterflied aji, I would never even taste it ;-) I have to open them on my own...

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    1. Oh really? I`ve read somewhere about buying fish in Europe (or was it England?) where the costumers can request the fish mongers to clean and butterfly the fish they bought. So maybe that`s only for some countries?
      I`ve tried to butterfly fish myself a while ago and as expected, it didn`t turn out pretty :D

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  6. What a delicious and easy dish..
    I love such dishes in summer when it is practically impossible to spend time next to my oven
    Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind words!!

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Reem! I`ll make sure to hop over your site often and check out your gorgeous dishes!

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  7. We love all kinds of fish. This looks great, especially with some spicy jalapeño!
    LL

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