Pickled mackerel with orange

Pickling is an ancient cooking technique that served to preserve food for longer. The fish we are going to use is mackerel, but it can be made with tuna, mussels or anchovies, for example. Mackerel is a very economical fish and cooked in pickle it looks very good and does not present any difficulty when preparing it, the cooking of the fish will be done in the pickle itself, as a result it will be a very nutritious and tasty dish since it has many omega 3 fatty acids and vitamins. This dish can be eaten all year round, we can consume it hot or cold and we can make the proportion of vinegar-water to our liking depending on whether we like it more or less acidic.

Ingredients: 4 people

• 4 mackerel, cut into clean, boneless fillets
• 2 onions
• 3 carrots
• 1 l of virgin olive oil
• 300 ml apple cider vinegar
• 200 ml white wine
• 100 ml of water
• 1 dessert spoon of peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 branch of sage
• 1 branch of fresh rosemary
• Salt to taste
• The thin skin of an orange

Preparation:

1. Put 300 ml of oil in the low Magma 32cm saucepan to heat. When it is hot, seal the mackerel fillets only on the skin side for a couple of minutes. Add a little salt and reserve on a separate plate.
2. Add the rest of the oil to the saucepan and heat over medium heat, while peel the carrots and cut into strips with a peeler, also cut the onion into fine julienne strips. When the oil is hot, add the onion, carrot and orange peel and let it sauté for about 8 minutes.
3. Add the water, vinegar, white wine, aromatics, salt, peppercorns and leave the mixture over medium heat for two minutes. At this moment we will test the salt and, above all, the vinegar to correct it.
4. Add the mackerel fillets, cover and remove from heat. Let cool completely in the saucepan. When the saucepan is almost cold, check the cooking of the fillets, although after about 40 minutes of resting away from the heat they are just right.

Note: All the broth left over from the pickle can be used for a second pickle preparation with any other fish. Photographs and recipe by Silvia .