Mackerel gets a bad rap. I think it's the name. Mackerel. It just sounds boring. Turns, out, though, it's delicious! All flavoury oily goodness, and good for you, too. Like, super good.
We didn't know that going in, of course. We were just focusing on the boring part. But then we saw the paprika, and the garlic, and the saffron, and remembered that Gordon doesn't do boring.
You can see, though, how we might have come to the conclusion that mackerel is a boring fish. With so much excitement going in to the dish, surely that must have been to cover an inherent lack. I mean, we're rubbing flavour right onto the fish itself here.
Whatever we may have been thinking about the mackerel, there was no denying that it is a beautiful fish. Just gorgeous.
With the fish roasting away, we had time to contemplate its accompaniment. A "gently Spanish vinaigrette," was just as advertised - saffron, mustard and olive oil working nicely together - but the boiled new potatoes seemed, well, blah.
They even look blah. If you needed a picture of blah, you couldn't ask for much better than that.
All in all a success - the fish was delicious, if a tad dangerous to those not on the lookout for bones. The potatoes were the only real downside; they seemed out of place in the dish overall, and certainly didn't help our plating!
My first thoughts after seeing the recipe for fennel and feta flatbreads:
1. I don't like fennel.
2. Robin doesn't like feta.
3. What the frick is pomegranate molasses?
4. This is going to be awesome!
At least we had an excuse to use our handy dandy mandolin to slice up the fennel bulb. Sadly, we couldn't find a use for the fronds. Get a whiff of that anise, everybody!
Who's ready for some toasty warm pitas? Everyone; the correct answer is everyone.
And, because you can never have enough fennel flavor, apparently, you should also toast up some aromatic fennel seeds to sprinkle over the flatbreads.
One thing this recipe has going for it is its simplicity. All we had to do was throw on the fennel and feta and drizzle with the mysterious pomegranate molasses.
Even Lyra was interested!
The sweetness of the molasses did complement the saltiness of the cheese pretty nicely but, in the end, I just couldn't quite get past my aversion to aniseed. If you're into black licorice, jelly beans, and absinthe, this dish is definitely for you!
I understand that you were promised bacon. Apologies: I ate it all. (And who could blame me! After so long away, to be given not just any bacon, but the most delicious bacon in the whole wide world? I take it back: no apologies.) You'll have to make do with photographic and anecdotal bacon, which is almost as good.
Hmmm, apparently there were other ingredients too. Eggs, always a good pair with bacon. Cheese, excellent. Oh, goat's cheese? Well, if we must. Green onion, red pepper, green peas, and basil? Colourful! Oh yes, and bacon.
Gordon calls this a frittata, but I tend to think of it as "a fat omelette you don't have to worry about flipping." To that end, we got about our business of sauteing all the delicious inside bits. Starting with the bacon.
Once the kitchen was beginning to smell adequately like heaven, in went everything else.
See? Colourful! And... healthy? Sure, green is healthy, right? Look at all that green! Bacon? What bacon?
It's snowing goat's cheese! Still healthy, right? No? But goats!
And in with the eggs. Eight of them. I think we left healthy a long way behind. Time to ignore all safety warnings and go full-speed ahead towards delicious - float that parmesan on top and be damned.
After some quality time in the oven, we had ourselves a completed fat omelette that I didn't have to worry about flipping. Of course, now I had to worry about getting it out of the skillet...
Success! Silicone spatula FTW!
No, who am I kidding. Bacon for the win. Always.
We're 3 months and 25 recipes in now! Despite life's numerous attempts to throw us off track, the project seems to be going well so far. Most of the food has been way more delicious - and a bit more expensive - than we'd anticipated.
I know I promised you bacon, but first we thought you'd enjoy revisiting some of the highlights of the last 3 months. After much deliberation, we present to you each of our top 3 recipes of the first quarter...
Robin:
1. Meatballs in fragrant coconut broth - a broth with unparalleled depth of flavour combined with meatballs that melt in your mouth. Pure class.
2. Tagliatelle with quick bolognese sauce - one of the most authentic Italian meals I've ever had, and that's including the ones actually in Italy.
3. Spiced lentil soup - the most crucial garnish I've ever encountered. The soup is nice enough on its own, but combine with the yoghurt and it goes to a whole new level.
Christina:
1. Moroccan lamb stew - a crazy flavor combination that truly is a party in your mouth.
2. Bread pudding - what's not to like about chocolate croissants, vanilla, and butter?
3. Marsala chicken with chicory - the only thing better than enjoying some moist, buttery chicken is enjoying it with Kelsey for her birthday!
Feaster happens when the third season of Game of Thrones premiers on Easter Sunday and you prepare a huge, meaty meal to celebrate just like they do in Westeros. Our feast: Brisket with potato piccalilli salad.
The brisket preparation was pretty easy because it's so similar to a lot of the other recipes we've tackled over the last few months. Actually, to be honest, I don't remember that much about it...
We seasoned it, browned it, and added a bunch of aromatic veggies and spices to it.
Incidentally, have you ever wondered what the inside of nutmeg looks like?
Then we added a lot of water and, let me tell you, we got a stew goin' on - Carl Weathers style.
The brisket went into the oven for about 4 hours and came out super tender, but Gordon said it had to rest for 20 minutes before we could slice it (and we know from years of watching Hell's Kitchen that meat starts to lose all its flavor as soon as you cut into it).
So we made the potato salad.
I'm still not sure what piccalilli means, but we combined potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, shallots and green onions and dressed it with home-made honey mustard vinaigrette.
Finally it came time to slice and serve the brisket. Droooooool.
Partially because of the food, and partially because of the show, this was an enjoyable meal. I can't remember eating brisket since I was a kid and tonight it tasted a lot like corned beef - not that that's a bad thing. And it made for excellent sandwiches the next day!
Stay tuned because bacon is coming up next.
