A pescatarian barbecue and smoked mackerel brunch

Posted by petra08 on July 6, 2014 · 17 Comments 

I am sure that some of our London friends did wonder why we left for the Kent seaside but with the kitchen coming along more are making their way to come visit. This weekend out friend did something as unusual as leaving her Notting Hill patch to come and visit. We haven’t met in quite some time so we really looked forward to seeing her and spend some time! It turned out that even the dogs looked forward to curling up with her on the sofa, a true compliment!

 

I wanted to have a barbecue but the weather seemed wobbly so I wasn’t sure. Just in case I got the ingredients, my friend is a pescatarian, so I got some fish and of course vegetables. We watched the weather go from sunshine to rain to sunshine again and I am pleased to say that it remained on sunshine! Said and done we fired up the barbecue and I started the prepping. First out was one of my barbecue favorites, potatoes and beetroot, I love the smokey flavor addition and it is so easy, it just need to go on first and it might take up to an hour.

 

Peel the beetroots and cut it in to wedges. Do the same with the potatoes and place on tin foil, drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and I also added fresh rosemary, lemon thyme and fennel pollen. Almost close the package but leave some room for the steam to come out and place on the barbecue.

 

 

I did a marinade for the fish from rapeseed oil, lemon zest, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 chilli, salt and pepper. I have to admit we ate the fish before I remembered to take a picture and it was delicious.

 

 

 

The fishmonger had some sushi grade tuna that I couldn’t resist so I made some tuna ceviche with raw broad beans and spring onion. I added the juice of a lime, extra olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. The tuna was so good I didn’t want to add anything more. I served it some crispy rye bread.

 

 

 

I couldn’t resist stuffing some mushrooms and I made a watermelon and dill salad.

 

Watermelon and dill salad 

preparation time 5 minutes 

cooking time 0 minutes 

serves 3

Ingredients

• 1/8 watermelon
• fresh dill
• 1/2 slice of goats cheese
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Mix it all and serve, super simple and easy!

 

 

The barbecue hit the spot and we spent the evening nursing our wine and enjoying catching up. It was so chilled out.

 

In the morning we were just lounging around and no one was really hungry until brunch. I love to eat fresh fruit for breakfast so this was a given. I still had some left of the watermelon, this time served au naturel! Cherries are in season and I had some ripe nectarines.

 

 

It was perfect to munch on. I boiled some quails eggs and gave them a sprinkle of truffle salt, nothing else needed! It might actually be the perfect bite!

 

 

I had a smoked mackerel that I made in to a pate. I have done it before but this time I wanted the flavor to be very light so I made it slightly different. Using mayo might not seem like a light option but if you make your own from good quality oil it can be light as a feather.

 

Smoked mackerel pate

preparation time 15 minutes 

cooking time 0 minutes 

serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 whole smoked mackerel
• 3 spring onions
• 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise (I made one with rapeseed oil)
• pepper
• 1 celery stick
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Bone the mackerel, I always go through the meat twice to make sure you get as many bones out as possible. Break up the meat in to chunks with your hands. using a fork might break it up and make it too smooth.

Slice the spring onion fine and dice the celery stick. Mix with the mayonnaise and then add pepper and lemon juice to taste. Mayonnaise binds the mackerel and adds flavor better than low fat dairy alternatives I think but they work as well of course for a lighter alternative.

I served the mackerel in fresh tomato, some extra veg is always great.

 

 

The sun was shining for most of the day and after brunch we went for a walk around town and on the beach.

 

 

The weather was very clear and across the water, in the background you can see the French coast line.

 

 

The sea is amazing, it is ever changing, the sea breeze lifts the most dampened spirits and this weekend set us all up for the week ahead.

 

I am bringing this to Fiesta Friday,one of the greatest food parties around!  It is hosted by the very talented Angie, how has the blog The Novice Gardener. This time she is joined by Margy from La Petite Caserole, and Sylvia from Superfoodista. Head over and have a look, lovely sounding recipes and beautiful images!

 

 

 

Filed under Allotment/Veg, Amuse bouche, barbecue, Beetroot, Bread, Brie, Broad beans, Brunch, Celery, Cheddar, Cherries, Chilli, Cod, Egg, Fish & Seafood, Fruit, Goats cheese, Herbs, Lemon, Lime, Mackerel, Main course, Nectarine, Potatoes, Recipe, Salmon, Spinach, Spring onion, Starter, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Wine · Tagged with Barbecue, fiesta friday, smoked mackerel, smoked mackerel pate