Smoked Mackerel and Preserved Lemon Salad
This salad, courtesy of John from our cook school, is ideally served with our recipe for Korean kimchi pancakes (recipe here). It is also very nice with rye bread or rice. It should be made at least 15 minutes before you plan on serving it, and stored in the fridge. (If you store the salad and dressing separately, it can be kept in the fridge for up to one hour before serving.)
Serves 2
Serves 2
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
1 tsp mirin
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp preserved lemon brine
1/2 knob fresh ginger
1/2 a preserved lemon, with skin and pulp (seeds removed)
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp preserved lemon brine
1/2 knob fresh ginger
1/2 a preserved lemon, with skin and pulp (seeds removed)
1 tsp sesame seeds
For the Salad:
4 spring onions, green tops only (thoroughly washed)
15 sprigs coriander
5 sprigs dill
10 sprigs mint, leaves only
2 fillets smoked mackerel, pin bones removed (instructions below)
Furikake or toasted nori flakes, to finish
15 sprigs coriander
5 sprigs dill
10 sprigs mint, leaves only
2 fillets smoked mackerel, pin bones removed (instructions below)
Furikake or toasted nori flakes, to finish
Method
- Begin by making the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the honey, mirin, sesame seeds, sesame oil and preserved lemon brine in a bowl, stirring to combine.
- Use a spoon to peel off the skin of the ginger. With a fine Microplane zester, grate the peeled ginger directly into the dressing bowl.
- Starting with a rocking motion, use a large chef’s knife to chop and mash the preserved lemon, occasionally using the flat of the knife to smear the chopped lemon into the board. Continue this process until it resembles a smooth paste before adding it into the dressing and stirring to combine.
- Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning to your taste – mirin for acidity, honey for sweetness, preserved lemon brine for salt – and leave to one side.
- Now make the salad. Cut the spring onion tops, coriander and dill sprigs into roughly 1cm long pieces, stems and all, and place into a bowl. Strip the mint leaves from the stalks and give them one firm clap between your hands before adding to the bowl.
- To prepare the mackerel, carefully remove the skin before cutting along either side of the blood line to remove the pinbones. Roughly break the remaining mackerel into 1cm pieces before adding to the bowl with the herbs.
- Add 3 quarters of the dressing to the mackerel and give the salad a thorough mix with a spoon so all the elements are dressed.
- To assemble, place half the Mackerel Salad on top of the warm kimchi pancake (or bread, or rice). Top with some of the remaining dressing and finish with furikake or nori flakes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second portion.
Smoked Mackerel and Preserved Lemon Salad, served on top of Kimchi Pancakes (recipe here).
BK Tips
- The preserved lemon paste can be made ahead of time, with a knife (as instructed above) or in a food processor. To use a food processor, add the chopped preserved lemon peel, pith and pulp (seeds removed) into the bowl and blend, adding the brine to achieve a smooth consistency. To store, simply place in a clean, sealable jar and cover the surface with some left over brine. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month, and be used to add a kick to any sauce or salad dressing.
