At a very cold market this morning, from a very cold fish man, I bought this large mackerel – it weighed about half a kilo. The parsley was free with the fruit and vegetables, un cadeau, a gift, and I’ve recently learnt a southern US French word for this practice, a word which isn’t used in France – lagniappe. The lemon wasn’t free!
While I was working, Lo Jardinièr filleted the mackerel, coated the fillets with flour and fried them in olive oil. At the same time he cooked some potatoes, par-boiled then sautéed them, so we had wonderful Mediterranean fish and chips for lunch.
olivesandartichokes 
That looks terrific – I’ve never cooked mackerel in flour, now you’ve got me thinking about doing it in breadcrumbs or batter!
Yes, breadcrumbs would be good!
Love the look of the bright silvery fish on the blue plate next to the lemon and parsley. Nice shot. And the finished dish makes me wish I was there to partake. Hadn’t thought about parboiling the potatoes first, then sauteeing. Great idea!
Thanks! And parboiling just makes it all a bit quicker.
fantastic, that looks quite quite perfect and such a fresh fish! c
Yes, the fish doesn’t come far, luckily!
“A wonderful Mediterranean fish and chips,” indeed! Sounds and looks delicious!
Thanks – it was!
I was just thinking about fish and chips the other day when I found some malt vinegar in the Intermarche. Well done!
try parmesan batter
Yes, that sounds an interesting idea.
Looks good yo me mmmmm Diane
Looks gorgeous and has inspired me to buy mackerel. I should cook it more as it´s so good for you but the bones annoy me – filleting (which is not at all difficult) is the answer! Did you have tartare sauce and mushy peas?!
Ha ha! No, we didn’t have tartare sauc and mushy peas…nor the malt vinegar that cookinginsens mentions. Just a squeeze of lemon and some chopped parsley and garlic – not real fish and chips at all! Mackerel is one of the few fish that tastes so good I don’t mind the bones too much…especially if LoJ fillets it!