Whole Mackerel on Balsamic and Thyme-Roasted Beetroot, with Sauteed Beet Leaves

Here's my last beetroot recipe for the Valentine's day line-up, this time a main course, not just a starter or side. This is a true celebration of the whole beet! Did you know it's not only the beetroot you can eat? You can eat the beet leaves too, it's actually related to the chard, which I love. Also, I want to take this opportunity to show you how you can work with more than just salmon fillets, but the whole fish. Mackerel is a wonderful oily fish that's rich in the same omega 3 fatty acids as salmon, and tastes amazing, but for a fraction of the price of salmon.

Whole Mackerel on Balsamic and Thyme Roasted Beetroot

serves 2

Ingredients

2 small/medium-sized mackerels, gutted but leave the heads and tails intact. (Nothing's wrong with your eyes, I only used 1 mackerel, because it was just for me)

2 small beetroots, peeled and chopped into large chunks (actually on second thought, if you slice it into nice circles, you can do a more classy presentation!)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt, black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Toss the chopped beetroot with the balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of evoo and 1 tbsp of thyme leaves. Roast for 20-25 minutes, till beetroot caramelises on the surface, but the inside is not totally soft.

3. Season the mackerels well with sea salt and pepper (esp the cavity), and tuck 1 sprig of thyme into the cavity of each mackerel.

4. Place the mackerel on top of the beetroot, and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, till the flesh is opaque, and the skin gets crispy. (You can turn the heat up, and change to "broil" for the last 5 min to get that charred effect if you want!)

5. Pour a tiny bit hot water just to deglaze the roasting dish and get the caramalised balsamic-beetroot juices off.

Simple Beet Leaves Saute

This is done in the same way as my Two-Kale Stir-fry, which is the no-fuss method I use on most greens when I just want a simple side.

Ingredients

Bunch of beet leaves from the 2 beets

2 cloves garlic

1/2 small onion

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp butter

a little balsamic vinegar (instead of lemon, so the whole dish is more harmonious)

sea salt, pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Remove the stalks from the beet leaves. These are harder and take longer to cook.

2. Melt butter with the 11/2 tsp of evoo over medium-high heat, in a large frying pan.

3. Fry the garlic and onion till golden/translucent, not browned.

4. Add the beet stalks first, turn up the heat, then add a splash of water (which quickly turns to steam) and the salt and pepper. 2-3 min later, add the beet leaves.

5. After the beet leaves have wilted and all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, add the extra tsp of evoo, and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and serve!

Serve the sauteed beet leaves with the roast mackerel and beetroot, drizzling the beet/balsamic roasting juices over, and sprinkling a few fresh thyme (leaves only) over. A fish cooked whole has has a more moist, flaky flesh, and it looks so impressive on the plate, don't you think? Or maybe it's just me. If you're worried about the head scaring your date off, you could always behead the fish I guess.

This entry is part of Tuesday Twister and Real Food Wednesday.

Chorizo and Chickpeas in Paprika-Tomato Sauce

I love food-- cooking, eating or even looking at it. I like going to Borough Market even if I know I can't afford the gourmet ingredients or delicacies there. But on a recent trip, I don't know what came over me and I got half a chorizo sausage. I think it was the recent Nigel Slater chorizo and chickpea stew video that I was watching on BBC iplayer, plus the smell of the sizzling chorizos outside Brindisa, that convinced the poor miser side of my brain to get it.

Then I realised I got the wrong chorizo, you want the soft semi-cured chorizo for cooking. The fully cured one, which I got, is much harder and can be sliced thinly and eaten 'raw' as tapas or over crusty bread, kind of like Italian salami or Chinese lap cheong. And is more expensive. Boo. It isn't that bad though, because in a cured sausage, the meat develops so much flavour over time that you need less to flavour the food it goes into, also it's like meat compressed, so there's more than you see. It was about 2.50 pounds for that and I think i can squeeze 4 servings from that, especially beefed up with legumes and vegetables.

I decided to make the most out of my mistake, and converted the Plan A paprika-tomato stew gravy into a paprika-tomato sauce to go over the seared chorizo and cooked chickpeas. And was very happy that I made a "mistake" (:

Chorizo and Chickpeas in Paprika-Tomato Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

About 1/2 of half a cured chorizo horseshoe-shaped sausage, sliced into 1-cm thick coins (I'm sorry I really don't know how much that is in grams. but you don't have to be too accurate!)

1 cup of (soaked, then) cooked chickpeas (reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid)

1 large onion, sliced thinly

1 large tomato, diced (or you can use about 1/4 cup of canned tomatoes)

1 tsp of paprika

1 tsp of chilli powder (or more or less depending on how manly you are ;)

1 sprig of fresh thyme (or you can use dried!)

splash of balsamic vinegar

1/2 tbsp of evoo (don't need a lot because of the fat in the chorizo)

To serve

about 2 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley

zest of half a lemon

Method

1. Over medium high heat, sear the chorizo slices in the olive oil on both sides. It should ooze out some wonderful paprika-infused oil of its own.

2. Add the onions and saute till they turn translucent.

3. Add the herbs and spices, diced tomato and splash of balsamic vinegar, and continue cooking till the tomato fully cooks down.

4. Add the cooked chickpeas plus a bit of the cooking liquid and then simmer until all the juices and liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens and becomes quite sticky.

5. Serve with the chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest tossed through to brighten everything up!

If you love sizzling sausages or salami and smoky sweet spicy sour sticky sauces (I'm getting really good at alliteration huh), you'll love this!

This is an entry for My Legume Love Affair#31, the "Make it with Paprika Mondays" Challenge, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Two-Kale Stir-fry

This is less of a recipe writeup, and more of a showcase of these two beautiful vegetables which are in season right now, but unfortunately, you don't get to see in the supermarket:

Tuscan Kale/ Dinosaur Kale/ Black Cabbage/ Cavolo Nero (posh)

Purple Curly Kale

Doesn't it sound like I plucked them from some secret mythical garden?

Two-Kale Stir-fry

serves 4 normal people or 1 veggie-lover

Ingredients

1 large bunch tuscan kale, washed and dried and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 large bunch purple curly kale, washed and dried and cut into bite-sized pieces

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil (+ 1 more tsp)

1 tsp of butter

sea salt, pepper (to taste)

pinch of nutmeg (opt)

squeeze of half a lemon (opt)

Method

1. Melt butter with the 1 tsp of evoo over medium-high heat, in a large frying pan. (else the kale will not be stir-fried properly)

2. Fry the garlic and onion till golden/translucent, not browned.

3. Add the kale, turn up the heat, then add a splash of water (which quickly turns to steam). When I have some homemade stock at hand, I use stock; it makes all the difference!

4. After the kale has wilted and all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, add the extra tsp of evoo, sea salt, nutmeg and lemon juice. Mix well and serve!

This is my simple no-fail method for any greens (or purples or blacks heh)-- spinach, spring greens, chard whatever! So, happy substituting, just note they have different cooking times e.g. spinach takes literally seconds to wilt, while kale's a lot tougher.