Cured mackerel with cucumber, dill and buttermilk

Featuring mackerel cured in dill and juniper, a refreshing dill ice cream and hay ash-encrusted mackerel belly, this recipe from Phil Fanning is certainly a little different, but well worth a try if you are looking for a dish that will satisfy and impress in equal measure.

Ingredients

MARINATED MACKEREL

• 4 mackerel fillets

• 1/2 bunch of dill

• 50g of caster sugar

• 50g of rock salt

• 4 juniper berries

• lemon peel, 1/4 of a lemon

DILL ICE CREAM

• 60g of dill

• 100g of crème fraîche

• 250g of milk

• 75g of whipping cream

• 10g of glucose

• 40g of sugar

• 20g of egg yolk

• 15g of trimoline

• 4g of ice cream stabiliser

• 3g of salt

DILL PICKLE

• 3 cucumbers

• 2 juniper berries, crushed

• 40ml of white vinegar

• 15g of sugar

• 15g of dill

• 5g of kombu

DILL OIL

• 2 bunches of dill

• 100g of vegetable oil

MACKEREL BELLY GARNISH

• mackerel belly, 12 pieces

• 250g of brown sugar

• 250g of salt

• 1 bunch of dill, finely chopped

• 1 handful of hay

• buttermilk

TO SERVE

• buttermilk

• viola flowers

• oyster leaves

• 1 pickled onion, sliced into rings

Equipment

Food processor or blender

Deep fat fryer

Ice cream maker

Muslin cloth

Thermometer

Blowtorch

Method

1 Transfer immediately to a food processor, add the dill and blitz until the dill has broken down and the liquid is bright green. Pass the ice cream base through a fine sieve and chill over ice

• 60g of dill

2 Once cold, churn the ice cream and store in the freezer until ready to serve

3 For the dill pickle, blitz 2 of the cucumbers in a food processor for a few seconds, then squeeze all of the juice out through a fine sieve

• 2 cucumbers

4 Heat the vinegar and sugar in a small pan. Add the dill and the kombu, followed by the cucumber juice and crushed juniper berries. Remove from the heat and chill

• 40ml of white vinegar

• 15g of sugar

• 5g of kombu

• 15g of dill

• 2 juniper berries, crushed

5 Peel the remaining cucumber, cut into 2cm rings and stamp out the seeds with a pastry cutter. Leave the cucumber rings to soak in the pickle liquor for 1-2 hours

• 1 cucumber

6 For the dill oil, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the dill for 3 minutes until tender but still bright green

• 2 bunches of dill

7 Plunge the cooked dill into iced water to immediately halt the cooking process. Squeeze dry, then transfer to a liquidiser, add the oil and blitz for 3-4 minutes until smooth

• 100g of vegetable oil

8 Pour the liquid into a sheet of double muslin and hang over a bowl in the fridge to allow the oil to drain through

9 To prepare the mackerel belly garnish, mix together the salt and sugar, then add enough chopped dill to achieve a nice green colour. Use the mix to coat the mackerel belly pieces, leave for 20 minutes, then scrape off the cure

• mackerel belly, 12 pieces

• 250g of brown sugar

• 250g of salt

• 1 bunch of dill, finely chopped

10 Add the hay to a heatproof bowl and set it alight. Pass the charred hay through a sieve and set aside in a tray

• 1 handful of hay

11 Dredge each mackerel belly piece through buttermilk, then through the hay ash to achieve a nice coating. Deep-fry the pieces until crispy, then set aside on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil

• buttermilk

12 To serve, pour a little puddle of buttermilk in the bottom of each bowl. Drizzle with a generous amount of the dill oil, followed by a few pieces of the pickled cucumber

• buttermilk

13 Blowtorch each portion of mackerel fillet until blackened slightly. Place the charred mackerel into each bowl, then add the mackerel belly pieces. Garnish with oyster leaf, flowers and pickled onion rings and finish with a spoonful of dill ice cream and a sprinkling of hay ash before serving

• viola flowers

• oyster leaves

• 1 pickled onion, sliced into rings

14 For the fish marinade, blitz all of the ingredients in a food processor. Cover the mackerel fillets in the marinade and leave to cure for 45-60 minutes

• lemon peel, 1/4 of a lemon

• 4 juniper berries

• 50g of rock salt

• 50g of caster sugar

• 1/2 bunch of dill

• 4 mackerel fillets

15 Wash the marinade off, pat dry and store in the fridge until required 16 To prepare the dill ice cream, whisk all of the ingredients together (except the dill), then bring the mix to approximately 90°C. Cook out, stirring continuously, for 1-2 minutes

• 100g of crème fraîche

• 250g of milk

• 75g of whipping cream

• 10g of glucose

• 40g of sugar

• 20g of egg yolk

• 15g of trimoline

• 4g of ice cream stabiliser

• 3g of salt