Of all the wondrous fish in the sea, it may come as a surprise that if I had to choose one sea fish, it would have to be the humble little mackerel – fresh from the sea – eaten within hours of being caught, it’s a feast.
The humble little silvery dappled mackerel are full of Omega -3 – in fact they have the highest content of all fish. Omega-3 essential fatty acids have been shown to have a lowering effect on blood fats and may also help inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. However, because of the oils mackerel deteriorate faster than any other fish.
The fishermen always say that “the sun should never set on a mackerel” so best to enjoy them when you are actually by the sea.
We poach them whole and serve them with a herby Bretonne Sauce, pan-grilled, they are delicious served with everything from a simple parsley butter melting over the crisp skin to a green gooseberry sauce which acts as a counterbalance to the rich mackerel. They roast beautifully in a hot oven and are particularly irresistible when you pop them on your barbecue. We simply sandwich them between two wire cake racks to make it easy to turn them over.
Very fresh mackerel make delicious sashimi and can of course be used in sushi. We pickle them in various ways, sometimes with mustard seeds, sliced tomatoes and wine vinegar, and maybe a sprinkle of turmeric. I also love old-fashioned soused mackerel with thinly sliced onion, a scattering of black peppercorns and a few bay leaves, tucked in between the ‘rollmops’ for extra pzazz.
They keep for at least a week in the fridge so if you have a glut, fillet them off and cook them gently. 
Serve soused or pickled mackerel with a piped potato salad and a sweet mustard and dill mayo and a beetroot or tomato salad.
When the mackerel are ‘in’ anyone even fair-weather ‘fishermen’ like me can manage to catch a fish. Just buy a line with a few feathers , drop it over the side of the pier or a boat and wait for the fish to bite. Its so exciting to catch your own supper, makes the fish taste even more divine.

Warm Poached Mackerel with Bretonne Sauce

Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a starter 

Fresh mackerel gently poached and served warm with this simple sauce is an absolute feast - without question one of my favourite foods. . 

4 fresh mackerel 
1.2 litres (40 fl ozs) water 
1 teaspoon salt 
Bretonne Sauce 
55g (2ozs) butter, melted
2 eggs yolks, preferably free range 
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (We use Maille Verte Aux Herbes)
2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped or a mixture of chervil, chives, tarragon and fennel, chopped 

Cut the heads off very fresh mackerel. Gut and clean them but keep whole. Bring the water to the boil, add the salt and the mackerel. Bring back to boiling point, and remove from the heat. After about 5-8 minutes, check to see whether the fish are cooked. The flesh should lift off the bone. It will be tender and melting. 
Meanwhile make the sauce. Melt the butter and allow to boil. Put the egg yolks into a pyrex bowl, add the mustard, wine vinegar and the herbs, mix well. Whisk the hot melted butter into the egg yolk mixture little by little so that the sauce emulsifies. Keep warm, by placing the pyrex bowl in a saucepan of hot but not boiling water. 
When the mackerel is cool enough to handle, remove to a plate. Skin, lift the flesh carefully from the bones and arrange on a serving dish. Coat with the sauce and serve while still warm with a good green salad and new potatoes.

Soused Mackerel and Sweet Mustard and Dill Mayonnaise

Serves 8 as a main course, 16 as a starter 
Keeps for a week to 10 days in the fridge.

8 mackerel
1 thinly sliced onion 
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf 
300ml (10 fl ozs) white wine vinegar

Sweet Mustard and Dill Mayonnaise

(see recipe)

Gut, wash and fillet the herrings, making sure there are no bones, a tall order with herring - but do your best. Roll up the fillets skin side out and pack tightly into a cast iron casserole. Sprinkle over thinly sliced onion, peppercorns, cloves, salt, sugar, vinegar and a bay leaf. Bring to the boil on top of the cooker and then pop into a very low oven, 140ºC/275ºF/regulo 1, for 30-45 minutes. 
Allow to get quite cold. Soused mackerel will keep for 7-10 days in the fridge. 
To Serve
Put one or two fillets of soused mackerel on a plate, zig zag with sweet mustard and dill mayonnaise. 
Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Mustard and Dill Mayonnaise

1 large egg yolk, preferably free range
2 tablesp. French mustard
1 tablesp. white sugar
3 pint (150ml) ground nut or sunflower oil
1 tablesp. white wine vinegar
1 tablesp. dill, finely chopped
Salt and white pepper

Whisk the egg yolk with the mustard and sugar, drip in the oil drop by drop whisking all the time, then add the vinegar and fresh dill.

Mackerel with Chermoula

Serves 4

Surprisingly mackerel can be found in Tangiers fish market alongside the more exotic Mediterranean fish. Being a strongly flavoured fish, mackerel takes easily to the spicing of this chermoula, and becomes an altogether more exciting fish.

3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
pinch of dried chilli flakes
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
150ml (¼pint) Extra Virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
4 medium mackerel, cleaned
salt 

lemon wedges

Put the crushed garlic into a small bowl with the cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, parsley and coriander. Slowly add the oil, mixing it thoroughly. Stir in the lemon juice. Cut 3 or 4 slanting slashes on both sides of each fish. Spread the chermoula mixture over the fish, rubbing it well into the slashes. Leave to marinade in a cool place for 1 hour.
Cook the fish under a preheated grill, or on a hot barbecue, turning once or twice, until the flesh just flakes when tested with a fork.
Serve with lemon wedges.

Mackerel with Tomatoes and Tapenade

Serves 4

4 fresh mackerel fillets
4 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
l teasp.thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Tapenade Dressing
30g (1 oz) Kalamata olives, stones removed
2 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
1 ½ teaspoon capers in brine, drained and rinsed
1 small garlic clove, crushed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Flat parsley sprigs.

Preheat the grill to high. 
Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking tray. Season lightly with some salt and pepper and sprinkle with the thyme leaves.
Slash the skin of each mackerel fillet two or three times and place, skin side up, on top of the tomatoes.
Meanwhile make the tapenade dressing. Chop the olives, anchovy and capers, add the crushed garlic, it should have a coarsish texture. Add the oil and vinegar and season to taste.
Grill the mackerel until the skin is crisp and the fish is cooked through and the tomatoes are warm. 
Transfer to warm plates and spoon over a little of the tapenade. Serve immediately with little sprigs of flat parsley.

Mackerel Sandwich with Mushrooms and Fresh Herbs

Serves 4

This delicious ‘sandwich’ transforms the humble little mackerel into something quite trendy and utterly delicious.

4 very fresh mackerel
15g (½ oz) butter
4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs - thyme, parsley, chives, fennel and lemon balm
110g (4oz) mushrooms, finely chopped
Seasoned flour
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Garnish
Fresh herbs 
Chive flowers if available


Fillet the mackerel, wash, dry and dip in flour which has been well seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread a little soft butter evenly over the flesh side of each fillet. Heat a frying pan or cast-iron pangrill large enough to take the fish in a single layer. Sauté until golden on both sides. 
Remove the fish to a hot serving dish or four individual plates. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, add the fresh herbs and season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper if necessary. Divide the mixture in four. Spoon a quarter over four of the fillets and top each with another fillet, crispy side upwards. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herbs and perhaps a few chive flowers. Serve immediately.

Note: This mushroom, garlic and herb mixture is also delicious served with sautéed chicken livers on toast, as a first course.

Foolproof Food

Potato and Spring Onion Salad

The secret of delectable potato salad is simple, use good quality potatoes, peel and toss in French Dressing while still warm. Mayonnaise may be omitted if a less rich potato salad is your choice.
Serves 4-6

2 lbs (900g) freshly cooked potatoes - diced, allow about 23 lbs (1.1kg) raw potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives or scallions or 2 teaspoons chopped onion
4 fl ozs (120ml) French dressing
4 fl oz (120 ml) Mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

The potatoes should be boiled in their jackets and peeled, diced and measured while still hot. Mix immediately with onion, parsley, salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the French dressing, allow to cool and finally add the mayonnaise. Keeps well for about 2 days.
Note: This potato salad is also delicious without Mayonnaise. Potato salad may be used as a base for other salads, eg. add cubes of garlic salami, cooked Kabanossi sausages or cooked mussels.

Piped Potato Salad

The first time we made this salad it was out of necessity because we overcooked the potatoes. It was a great success and now we make it regularly by choice!

4½ cups freshly mashed potato

Add Ballymaloe French dressing, finely chopped parsley, chives, mayonnaise and seasoning to the stiff potato to taste. Pipe onto individual leaves of lettuce or use to garnish an appetiser salad or hors d'oeuvres.

Hot Tips

Mackerel are cheap so grasp the opportunity to practice your filleting technique – if the knife slips it won’t break the bank!

Mackerel are unquestionably best eaten on the day they are caught, if you catch, buy or get a present of more than you can eat, be sure to gut them, wash and chill in the fridge overnight. They deteriorate much faster if the insides are not removed.

July events foodie events
Friday 2nd July – Slow Food Market on Bantry’s Main Street from 9-4 in aid of Co-Action – the West Cork organisation which provides services for adults with physical and mental handicaps. Denis Cotter of Cork’s Café Paradiso will be cooking and selling Café Paradiso produce on the day plus many, many more attractions. This coincides with the weekend of the Bantry Chamber Music Festival. If you would like a stall contact Clodagh on 023-52977 or clodaghmckenna@eircom.net  

Sunday 4th July – Euro-Toques Ireland 3rd National Food Forum and Food Fair at Brooklodge, Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow – info@eurotoquesirl.org  www.eurotoquesirl.org  Tel 01-6779995 

Wed 7th – Friday 9th July - Antony Worrall -Thompson – well known TV chef will be guest chef at Ballymaloe Cookery School – Tel 021-4646785

Just last week the House of Commons Health Committee warned that children were in the grip of an obesity epidemic and lambasted the UK Government’s lamentable lack of action. In the past 20 years the prevalence of obesity has risen by 400%, and the number of overweight or obese children increased by 25% between 1995 and 2002. Researchers in the University of Southampton confirmed that food additives are causing behavioural problems in the same generation. In the UK it is estimated that a quarter of all women and one in five men are classified as obese, and that as many as 30,000 people die prematurely every year from obesity-related conditions. 

However, it is worth noting that the body mass index (BMI) has been revised downwards in the past six years, due to lobbying by groups who are determined to turn obesity into a disease which can be treated by pharmaceutical, diet and medical industries. Overnight 36 million people in the US woke up to find they were classified as obese. In ‘Dispensing with the Truth’, Alicia Mundy points out that in the US medicine is an industry. Think of it, Mundy says as Obesity Inc.!

Whatever the measurement, there’s no denying we’re getting fatter. It seems perfectly acceptable nowadays for youngsters to reveal layers of pudgy fat over the top of their tight-fitting jeans. Hitherto we would have done our best to camouflage the extra pounds with loose-fitting gear. Here in Ireland we have no reason to be smug or complacent, we are also facing a growing problem in every sense of the word, 13% of the population are classified as obese and almost half are overweight – (42% of males and 27% of females). If you personally are sylph like and feel this issue is irrelevant to you – think again. As taxpayers it effects each and every one of us. It is estimated that obesity accounts for up to 6% of Ireland's total health care costs. In the UK its costing the NHS at least £500m per year.

Over 50% of Americans are now classed as obese, 1 million are classified as super-obese which means they can barely walk and in many cases are completely immobile. A friend from Berkeley in California who is deeply concerned about these issues told me recently that there are 40 people who weigh over 400 lbs in just one of the several hospitals in Berkeley. The annual cost to the US economy of obesity-related problems such as cardio-vascular disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, just some of the ‘health’ problems linked to obesity is now in excess of $100 billion dollars a year. Ironically that figure exactly mirrors the amount that Americans spend on fast food annually.

The Obesity Report has generated enormous debate in the UK and has forced the government to explain its strategy. Food manufacturers, particularly those who make sweets, confectionery and soft drinks are having to rethink their marketing. The sort of promotions which encourage school children to collect wrappers to buy sports equipment or computers, are being hastily withdrawn and rightly so. 

Parents are exhausted from trying to resist the pleas of children seduced by carefully crafted ads for everything from sugar-laden cereals full of empty calories to chicken nuggets and soft drinks laced with aspartame. From watching children’s television or cartoons for even a short time, you will understand why our government recently published a code of practice. Under Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland code of Advertising and Children - An advertisement addressed to children ‘should not encourage an unhealthy lifestyle or unhealthy eating or drinking habits; advertisements representing mealtime should clearly and adequately depict the role of the product within the framework of a balanced diet; snack foods should be clearly represented as such, and not as substitutes for meals.’

It is unlikely to be a coincidence that childhood obesity rates are highest in countries where junk food advertising is least regulated – the US, the fattest nation on earth, UK second and Australia.

Why can’t we put the same resources into an advertising campaign to educate the public about the connection between the food we eat and how we feel. Our food should be our medicine. It is a damning reflection on the current situation that futurologists are now saying that mass-produced food is fast becoming the ‘new tobacco’.

In a crisis the natural reaction seems to be to find someone to blame. Fast food outlets are being targeted and demonised but I fear it is wishful thinking to imagine that this sector is the sole cause of the problem. This type of food would certainly seem to be a contributory factor, but I believe the problem is much more fundamental. The food we eat has changed dramatically in the past 40 or 50 years. The fixation with cheap food has forced farmers and food producers to intensify their production methods to the detriment of the texture, flavour and nutritional content. Study after study is showing that much of our food contains dramatically less vitamins, minerals and trace elements than it did even in the 1970’s. Consequently much of the food we eat is neither nourishing nor satisfying, effecting both our mental and physical health, as we eat more empty calories.

We urgently need to readjust our priorities, people who regularly protest that they cannot afford to buy organic food may want to look at how much they spend in the pub, on magazines, sport, clothes, videos….

In 1979 we spent 26% of our income on food, in 1999 it was down to 12.9%. 

So much depends on the food we eat. Cheap mass-produced food may well prove to be the most expensive thing you can feed your family in health terms. An investment of a little more time in sourcing really fresh naturally-produced local food in season will pay handsome dividends.

Delicious early Summer foods now in season – Mackerel, Green Gooseberries, Broad Beans, Courgettes – enjoy!

Pangrilled Mackerel with Green Gooseberry Sauce

Mackerel are now in season so look out for some lovely shiny fresh fish to pan grill and serve with tart Green Gooseberry Sauce.

Serves 4

8 fillets of very fresh mackerel (allow 6 ozs (170g) fish for main course, 3 ozs (85g) for a starter)
Seasoned flour
Small knob of butter

Green gooseberry sauce – see below
Heat the grill pan. Dip the fish fillets in flour which has been seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. Shake off the excess flour and then spread a little butter with a knife on the flesh side, as though you were buttering a slice of bread rather meanly. When the grill is quite hot but not smoking, place the fish fillets butter side down on the grill; the fish should sizzle as soon as they touch the pan. Turn down the heat slightly and let them cook for 4 or 5 minutes on that side before you turn them over. Continue to cook on the other side until crisp and golden. Serve on a hot plate accompanied by green gooseberry sauce.

Note: Fillets of any small fish are delicious pan grilled in this way. Fish under 2 lbs (900g) such as mackerel, herring and brown trout can also be grilled whole on the pan. Fish over 2 lbs (900g) can be filleted first and then cut across into portions. Large fish 4-6 lbs (1.8-2.7kg) can also be grilled whole. Cook them for 10-15 minutes approx. on each side and then put in a hot oven for another 15 minutes or so to finish cooking.

Green Gooseberry Sauce

Use the tart hard green gooseberries on the bushes at the moment, they make a delicious sauce.

10 ozs (285g) fresh green gooseberries
stock syrup to cover (see below) - 6 fl.ozs (175 ml) approx.
a knob of butter (optional)

Top and tail the gooseberries, put into a stainless steel saucepan, barely cover with stock syrup, bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit bursts. Taste. Stir in a small knob of butter if you like but it is very good without it.
Stock Syrup

4 fl ozs (120ml) water
4 ozs (110g) sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the water and boil together for 2 minutes. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator until needed. Stock syrup can also be used for sorbets, fruit salads or as a sweetener in homemade lemonades.

Carrigeen Moss Pudding

Serves 4-6

Carrigeen moss is bursting with goodness. I ate it as a child but never liked it as it was always too stiff and unpalatable. Myrtle Allen changed my opinion! Hers was always so light and fluffy. This is her recipe, it’s the best and most delicious. We find that visitors to the country are fascinated by the idea of a dessert made with seaweed and they just love it. The name comes from little rock.

8g (¼oz) cleaned, well dried carrigeen moss (1 semi-closed fistful)
850ml (12pint) milk 
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 egg, preferably free range
2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence or a vanilla pod

Soak the carrigeen in tepid water for 10 minutes. Strain off the water and put the carrigeen into a saucepan with milk and vanilla pod if used. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently with the lid on for 20 minutes. At that point and not before, separate the egg, put the yolk into a bowl, add the sugar and vanilla essence and whisk together for a few seconds, then pour the milk and carrigeen moss through a strainer onto the egg yolk mixture whisking all the time. The carrigeen will now be swollen and exuding jelly. Rub all this jelly through the strainer and beat it into the milk with the sugar, egg yolk and vanilla essence if used. Test for a set in a saucer as one would with gelatine. Whisk the egg white stiffly and fold or fluff it in gently. It will rise to make a fluffy top. Serve chilled with soft brown sugar and cream and or with a fruit compote eg. Green gooseberry compote.

Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote

Serves 6-8

Elderflowers have an extraordinary affinity with green gooseberries and by a happy arrangement of nature they are both in season at the same time.
900g (2 lb) green gooseberries
3-4 elderflower heads
600ml (1pint) cold water
450g (1 lb) sugar

First top and tail the gooseberries. Tie the elderflower heads in a little square of muslin. Put into a stainless steel or enamelled saucepan, add the sugar and cover with cold water. Bring slowly to the boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Add the gooseberries and simmer just until the fruit bursts. Allow to get cold. Serve in a pretty bowl and decorate with fresh elderflowers.

Watchpoint: It is essential to cook the fruit until it actually bursts, otherwise the compote will be too bitter.

New Season Baby Broad Beans with Olive Oil and Sheep’s Milk Cheese

My ‘garden angels’ know broad beans, considered dull by many are my favourite vegetable. I insist on planting the first seeds in November. So that with luck we’ll have the first tender beans in June. With careful successive planting we still manage to have them until the end October.

Serves 6

450g (1 lb) new season broad beans - about 1.8kg (4 lb) in the pods

Extra virgin olive oil 
Sea salt 
A Sheep’s Cheese eg Knockalara or organic St Tola Goat Cheese
Crusty white bread – Ciabbatta would be good

Bring the broad beans to the table, have a bottle of your best extra virgin olive oil, a bowl of sea salt and a piece of sharpish sheep’s milk cheese or a lovely fresh goat cheese, Pecorino would of course be delicious or also a good Feta.

Let each person have the pleasure of removing the beans from the furry pods. When you’ve accumulated a little pile on your plate, dip one by one, first into olive oil then into sea salt. Enjoy with the tangy cheese and warm crusty Ciabatta. 

Thin slices of Parma ham (prosciutto) or very good Italian Salami would make a more substantial feast. 

Courgettes or Zucchini with Marjoram

Serves 4

I’m completely hooked on annual marjoram. The seed is sometimes difficult to track down because it can be called Sweet marjoram or Knotty marjoram, but if you have any little patch at all it’s worth growing because it transforms so many dishes into a feast.

1 lb (450 g) green or golden courgettes or a mixture no more than 6 inches (15 cm) in length
1-2 tablespoons approx. olive oil
1-2 teaspoon chopped annual marjoram or basil

Top and tail the courgettes and cut them into scant ¼ inch (5 mm) slices. Heat the oil, toss in the courgettes and coat in the olive oil. Cook on a medium heat until just tender –4-5 minutes approx. Add the marjoram or basil. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn into a hot dish and serve immediately.

Courgettes are one of the trickier vegetables to cook. Like mangetout peas they seem to continue cooking at an alarming rate after you’ve taken them out of the pot, so whip them out while they are slightly al dente.

Foolproof Food
This muesli recipe may be varied with the seasons, adding, raspberries, blackberries, apple, chopped hazelnuts.

Ballymaloe Strawberry Muesli

Serves 8

4 ozs (110g) fresh strawberries
3 heaped tablesp. rolled oatmeal 
6 tablespoons water
1 teasp. honey

Soak the oatmeal in the water for 10 or 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the strawberries roughly with a fork and mix with the oatmeal. Sweeten to taste with honey, a scant teaspoon is usually enough but it depends on how sweet the strawberries are.
Serve with cream and soft brown sugar.

Hot Tips 

Join an Organic Box Scheme and have a selection of fresh seasonal produce delivered to your home every week. Contact Organic Trust Ltd., Tel. 01 8530271, IOFGA, Tel. 0506-32563, or Demeter 056 - 54214.

Local Producers of Good Food in Cork – the revised edition of this great booklet has just been published by Cork Free Choice Consumer Group – compiled by Myrtle Allen and Fawn Allen – For more information about the group contact Caroline Robinson 021-7330178 , www.corkfreechoice.ie 

Check out the local Farmers’ Market – buy directly from the food producers, often cheaper and fresher, plus you have the bonus of knowing that your ‘food euro’ is encouraging sustainable agriculture and supporting your local community. Extra bonus of an interactive shopping experience (no trolley rage and no sweeties to tempt the kids).

Lobby your TD’s and MEP’s to provide cycle lanes and footpaths on all roads to facilitate people who would like to have the option to take a little exercise. We take our life in our hands, everything militates against the pedestrian and cyclist. Consider the idea of walking to school with your children in the summer. Parents could take turns doing the school walk – bonus of added time to chat, observe nature and get in some exercise all in one – just a thought!

Notice how often we eat between meals. Remember how this was discouraged when we were children. Is it my imagination, or are people eating and drinking non-stop nowadays – try having just three moderately-sized meals a day!

Organise a rota with your pals so you don’t have to bring your children into the supermarket. According to James McNeal, a professor of marketing at Texas A&M University, who wrote the influential sales handbook ‘Kids as Customers’, child pester power is responsible for 75% of spontaneous and un-intentioned food purchases, as tormented parents cave into advertising-fuelled pleas. 

Remember if you don’t have junk in the house, kids can’t eat junk.

Oatmeal has long been regarded as a healthy addition to the diet – and not just in porridge – Oat Millers of Ireland which incorporates Flahavans, Odlums and Whites Speedicook, have got together to produce a Summer Recipe Collection – which is available online at www.oatmillers.ie  or contact info@oatmillers.ie  or Tel. 01-6789762, The Oat Millers of Ireland, Huband House, 16 Upper Mount St. Dublin 2.