Cheffy’s Recipes: Top 3 West Country Seafood Dishes – Part 1

Buongiorno friends!

It's been a while since I've given you any of my precious cookery tips, so I'm back with a 3 part 'Cheffy's Recipes' blog series where I'll be celebrating some of the best produce from the West Country seafood scene.

Now I know part and parcel of your UK self catering holidays is exploring local restaurants, but for those who enjoy cooking, the wealth of fresh seafood available is genuinely exciting.

Whole Baked Mackerel with a Garlic, Lemon, Caper & Parsley Butter (Serves 4)

Mackerel has to be one of my favourite fish. Firstly even I can catch them, and secondly they're very versatile in the way they can be prepped and cooked.

I like to bake them whole with a garlic, lemon, caper and parsley butter, mmm delizioso! Here is a recipe that you can follow during your self catering breaks...

Ingredients:

4 x whole mackerel (gutted, scaled and scored)
100g salted butter (room temperature)
2 x finely chopped garlic cloves
1 x whole lemon (zest and juice)
25g capers in brine
1 x bunch finely chopped curly parsley
Tin foil and baking paper
Seasoning

Method:

In a bowl, mix the butter with the lemon zest and juice, garlic, capers and parsley. Continue mixing until you're left with a smooth butter.

Rip the baking baker roughly 30cmx30cm and the tin foil 40cmx40cm. Place the paper on top of the foil, then the whole mackerel on the paper.

Season the fish and smother the butter all over, remembering to fill the scores. Fold in to a parcel and repeat process for each mackerel.

Cook parcels for 30mins (or until bones fall off the fish) either on a BBQ outside your self catering accommodation, or in the over at 180°C.

Serve with buttered new potatoes and bon appetito!