Quick fried Mackerel fillets with garlic and bay

Ingredients:

Fresh mackerel, 1 per person
Olive oil
A few garlic cloves, thickly sliced
A few bay leaves, roughly torn
½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cut the fillets from either side of the mackerel, bait-cutter style
Season them with a little salt and pepper.

2. Put a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a thin film of olive oil. When the oil is fairly hot, scatter in the garlic and bay leaves, then lay the mackerel fillets over them, skin side down. You’re looking for a gentle sizzle rather than a fierce flash-fry.

3. As it cooks, the mackerel flesh will change from translucent pink to opaque white. When the fillets are almost completely white, turn them over for just a minute to finish cooking. The whole process won’t take longer than 5 minutes.

4. Let the garlic and bay just sizzle in the oil under and next to the fish,
flavouring it gently.

5. Lift the mackerel fillets from the pan, leaving the bay and garlic behind (they’re probably just starting to burn a bit). Give the fillets a squeeze of lemon juice and serve straight away, with salad (a sliced tomato salad is delicious with mackerel) and either new potatoes or buttered bread.

Baked fish with tomato and herbs

Ingredients
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 x 227g tin chopped tomatoes
300g (10oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
small handful oregano or basil leaves
4 skinless white fish fillets, about 450-500g (14½oz-1lb)
4 very thin lemon slices

Method

Fry the onion in the olive oil for a minute. Add the garlic, stir, then add the tinned tomatoes and let them bubble away together. Throw in the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes, until they begin to sag a bit. Add half the oregano or basil and stir. Season and tip the lot into a baking dish large enough to hold all the fish in a single layer.

Lay the fish on top and scatter over the remaining herbs. Season and lay a piece of lemon on each fillet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes when you press it. Serve with a green salad and bread, or boiled potatoes, if you like