Kim Bradley on Challenge 2
I'll be honest, when I received the food basket I was terrified and felt like a deer in the headlights. I panicked a little.
Then I opened the mackerel and tasted it. It has a strong but pleasant flavor. It was greasy and oily and tasted like salmon crossed with a really rich tuna steak. I started to calm down and knew I could work with this.
I tried a variety of dishes and actually made a mackerel quiche with a pasta cracker crust served with a potato/broccolini hash. The quiche was OK, but the eggs fought with the fish.
Back to the drawing board. So I thought I would try a pasta dish and, boy, was that a good decision!
Do you remember the first time you tasted arugula? It was sharp and bitter and not at all like iceberg lettuce. In many ways, I compare my first taste of mackerel to the first time I tasted arugula - it was a flavor much different from what I was used to, but delicious.
When combined with lemon, onions and wine, everything balances, and the pasta takes on a wonderful, stomach-warming, rich flavor.
If you don't like canned fish, I encourage you to try this recipe. I was pleasantly surprised at what I created. It is delicious and may change how you feel about serving tinned fish as a regular part of your recipe rotation.
It is perfect for a fall day, and it is easy to keep a few tins in the pantry.
Kim Bradley