Daily Food: Mackerel and Cauliflower Mash
I’m back to blogging! I’ve started my final semester at UVA, and I’ve entered a reflective period, re-centering myself after a hectic holiday season on what interests and activities are most important to me. Especially with graduation nearing, I’m trying to brainstorm career ideas and to put more time into activities that might help get me a job relating to my array of passions, including food, cooking, writing, and art. With that said, I’ve reminded myself that this blog can one day be a virtual portfolio of my writing, cooking, recipes, and photography and that it deserves some love and attention. So I’m back to blogging, but to make it easier on myself (and my readers!), I’m initially going to use the format of describing and sharing my daily meals. It not only gives a purpose to all the food pictures I’ve been taking, but also incents me to practice presentation when plating even a casual meal.
This first post is of a dinner I made for myself last week. I tried mackerel for the first time and served it with mashed cauliflower. I simply seared the mackerel skin-side down in the pan and cooked it until it was almost done through. Then I flipped it onto the flesh side briefly to finish cooking and to brown some of the spices I had dusted upon it (chili, ginger, cayenne). For the cauliflower mash, I steamed a head of cauliflower in a basket over boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until soft, and then I pureed it with chicken stock and butter. Here’s a picture of my plated dinner. It’s a little monochromatic, but it was delicious, nonetheless.
SlowFoodieBear 
How did you like the mackerel? Never tried it but I am trying to eat more fish this year!
I loved it! I had heard that it can be quite a strong or oily fish, but I didn’t find that at all! I would just say that it can stand up to bold flavors like Asian spices or chili and cayenne. And the skin might look metallic and chewy when it’s raw, but as long as you cook it in a fairly hot pan, skin-side down for most of the time, it’s perfectly edible and quite tasty! Props to you on the new years goal! Good luck!
Thanks for the review/advice! 🙂
Also, keep tuned this evening for another way to use mackerel! I take the leftovers to make mackerel cakes and they were equally delicious.
Makes us want to try mackerel, something we have never had before. Looking forward to hearing about mackerel cakes!