Leslie Vennero Little
I prepared a mackerel, spinach, and Orzo stuffed pepper with a fresh spinach salad.
When I saw the mackerel, I immediately thought of fish cakes or a casserole. I did not want to go that route. I tried to think of something else I could use the mackerel in. My grandma used to make a tuna spaghetti, so I started thinking about a tomato sauce with the mackerel and ended up with a stuffed pepper. I decided to go with Mediterranean flavors. My reaction to the mystery basket ingredients was mixed. I am not a big fan of canned fish except for tuna. The spinach, tomatoes, and mustard all seemed like ingredients I could deal with better than the mackerel. Once I had a plan, my lows were just trying to bring out the right flavors. My sauce had a little too much acid, which I was able to temper with a few bay leaves. My dressing also gave me a little problem. I wanted it to be like a simple lemon vinaigrette with a bit of spice from the mustard. The after "heat" from the mustard was pretty strong, so I added some honey to make it a little sweeter, and it went well with the "heat." I wanted the mackerel to be prominent but not overwhelming, so when I paired it with the tomato sauce, spinach, feta, and Kalamata olives, they all seemed to complement each other, no ingredient was overpowering. My brother in law was my tester. He loved both the pepper and the salad, and he is not an olive fan, so he picked those out. We discussed the tartness of the vinaigrette and agreed it needed something sweet. I guess the only surprise was the mackerel. I had never tried it before and was surprised it tasted similar to tuna. Again, I found the mystery ingredients fun to work with and also challenging. It was another positive experience for me. I used the white triangle plate again for my presentation, and this time it looked a lot better with the reds and greens in the dish.