Mackerel With Lentils

So this week I've started a food diary, writing down everything I eat. The plan is to make sure that after a few weeks of eating terribly - pizza, cornish pasties, supermarket curry - I start eating fruit and vegetables. I also want to make sure I get enough fish. It never fails to make me feel better and today I went to Kensington Church Street in search of fish only to find it closed. So I went to the expensive Fishworks where I wanted to buy some Haddock but wallked out with a plump south coast mackerel. It's rare that one dish will contain so many of my favourite things but grilled mackerel, roasted tomatoes and puy lentils are probably in my top ten. So I put them all together.


Mackerel With Lentils (Serves two)

2 large mackerel fillets
2 plum tomatoes, halved
100g puy lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp creme fraiche
Handful of flatleaf parsley, chopped
Savoy Cabbage

1) Pre-heat the oven to 180c. Cut the tomatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper annd place in the oven for 45 minutes
2 Put the puy lentils onto boil for 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the red onion. Then add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two. Drain the cooked lentils, add them to the frying pan and stir in the mustard, creme fraiche and parsley.
3) With five minutes to go until the lentils are done, season the mackerel with salt and pepper. Place under the grill, skinside up, for five minutes. Serve on top of the lentils with the roast tomatoes and steamed savoy cabbage on the side.

I just love the sweet flesh of a mackerel - it goes so well with tomatoes and can take hot flavours like mustard. My one portion of oily fish this week was an absolute pleasure to eat.