I've eaten a lot of smoked mackerels, bur never had a fresh peace in my hands. Until De Krat brought me one, or actually two fillets. Including a recipe, which I tried immediately as fish should be eaten as fresh as possible. What I particularly likes about the dish is the crispy skin and the nice solid texture of the fish.
Needed:
2 mackerel fillets with skin
1 red onion, chopped
Fresh Parsley
100 ml white wine
1 bay leaf
2 el mustard
30 g butter, cold and chopped
Preheat the oven at 250ْ C, season the mackerel with some salt and black pepper. Create, in the middle of a baking dish, a mound of the onion, bay leaf and parsley (keep a bit aside for the garnish). Put the fillets on top with the skin side up, pour the wine over and put in the oven. Cook for 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Put the fillets aside on a warm serving dish as soon as they're done, cover with some aluminum foil to keep warm.
Strain the cooking liquid from the baking dish in a small saucepan and boil for a couple of minutes to concentrate. Add the mustard and stir, the whisk the butter through and let it simmer for about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with same parsley.
Very nice with some skin cooked potatoes and a green salad. Very light, the fish is oily enough by itself.
Pre New Years Eve Party of hubbies office. Wonderful located in a gallery on the Nieuwezijdsvoorburgwal, completely decorated for the occasion. Chapeau for hostess Afke for arranging everything on short notice for the 40 people attending. Although the fish soup as a started didn't have much taste, the rest of the meal (wonderful salad, loved the roasted onion, turkey was good and the nuts on the desert delicious) as well as the evening were great. Also much appreciation for the burlesque dancer. It was just, the wine, this wine was not my best friend the next morning ouch ouch. Mummy and daddy are not used to going to bed at four thirty in the morning :-s
Ben invited us to his house boat for an easy comfort food diner, and that was all we needed. Appetizer: taco chips with melted cheese guacamole, chili and creme fraiche. We really attacked the plate! Diner course 2: home made wonderful delicious tomato red paprika soup with lots of chili and lots of ginger. This is my favorite soup in the world (want to try it: go to Puccini's where Ben is in the kitchen or book a night at his houseboat and he might just make you some). So delicious we had 2 big bowls! Main course: warm smoked salmon salad with grilled mini potatoes and grilled green asparagus. yum yum. Salmon came from the very, very best place in Amsterdam to get smoked stuff: Franks Smoke House. Once you've tasted his salmon you will not be wanting any other! I made braised pears with ice cream for desert, but we were really to full to eat another bite. Just some cheese and red port and the evening was complete. Thank you Ben!
At the wonderful Westergasterrein is best best Bakkerswinkel of the lot. Decorated beautifully, a lot of space and a great environment. One of our favorite places on the Sunday morning, they open at 10 which is the best time to enter, just before the families with their children arrive around eleven and it gets really crowded. First a stroll with the dog over the free dog walk terrain and then a big breakfast at the Bakkerswinkel. The westergasfabrieksontbijt with eggs and ham is when you're really really hungry, but I would recommend sharing a bakkersontbijt with two persons and then order some additional scones (with cranberries for example) If only so you can try all the different jams that are in jars on the tables, like the lemon curd, pineapple and basil or just raspberry.
