Mackerel with roasted vegetables and red pepper sauce

Mackerel is a cheaper alternative to other white fish and ironically is more flavoursome. This recipe is proof that healthy food doesn't have to be bland with roasted vegetables and sweet,smokey red pepper sauce, delicious!

Serves 2

2 Mackerel fillets (pepper marinated work well)
1 Large courgette, diced into 2cm squares
1 Yellow pepper, diced into 2cm squares, de-seeded
1 Green pepper, diced into 2cm squares,de-seeded
1 Head of garlic, sliced horizontally
Few sprigs of thyme
2 Tablespoon's runny honey
Vegetable oil

Sauce
1 Large red pepper
125ml Vegetable stock
Half teaspoon Chilli flakes
Half teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton)
25g Butter


1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Add the diced vegetables and garlic along with the herbs and honey, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, mix well and roast for 50 minutes, turning the vegetables often.

3. For the sauce, over a naked flame, prick the pepper with a fork and toast the pepper over the flame to blacken the skin. Once blackened, wrap the pepper in cling film and leave for 5 minutes.

4. Once cooled, remove the cling film and scrape off the blackened skin with a knife, cut the pepper into slices and de-seed. Add the pepper and the vegetable stock to a pan along with the chilli flakes and simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat.

5. Once the pepper is softened, transfer to a blender and blitz to a fine puree, pass through a sieve into a clean pan, whisk in the butter and add the paprika. Keep warm.

6. Place a frying pan on a high heat and add the vegetable oil, season the mackerel fillets with salt and pepper (unless pre-marinaded), when the pan is smoking hot, add the mackerel skin-side down and turn the heat down to medium, press the fillets down with a fish slice to keep the fish flat and prevent it curling up.

7. Fry the fish for 3-5 minutes on the skin until brown and crisp, flip over onto the flesh side and cook for 30 seconds.

8. To assemble, pile the vegetables in the centre of the plate and place the mackerel on top, drizzle over the pepper sauce and serve.