Recipe by Susie Morrison
MASALA FRIED RED MULLET, POTATO & WATERCRESS SALAD
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 red mullet fillets (or mackerel, salmon, sardines etc)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 800g baby potatoes, skin on
- 4 tbsp oil
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tsp nigella seeds
- 200g watercress
- 20g Basmati rice
- lemon, to serve
FOR THE MASALA SPICE BLEND
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
FOR THE RAITA
- 300g full fat Greek yoghurt
- ½ cucumber, seeds removed, julienne
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp oil
- a pinch of salt
METHOD
- Begin with the roasted rice. Add the rice to a dry frying pan and heat to the highest heat. Toast, shaking the pan until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Remove, allow to cool then grind to a coarse crumb in a blender. Set aside in a jar (this keeps for ages and adds great crunch to salads).
- For the raita, mix the yogurt, cucumber, garlic and salt in a bowl. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and nigella. Fry until beginning to pop then pour the whole lot into the yogurt bowl. Stir in and allow to rest.
- Add the potatoes to a pan, cover with cold water and cook until just tender. Remove, drain and allow to steam until completely dry. If you have time, transfer them to the fridge on a wire rack to get really dry.
- Rub the spice mix over your fish fillets. Set aside while you cook the potatoes and onion.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little salt and set aside.
- Add the potatoes to the hot oniony oil and press down with a fork to lightly crush. You want to retain some shape but give lots of crumbly edges to go super crispy. Fry for 2-3 minutes until a crust forms, sprinkle with the salt and nigella and flip.
- Continue to cook until all the edges are crisp (you may need to cook in batches) and set aside.
- Heat a splash more oil in the pan and add the fish fillets skin side down. Have the heat on medium high to prevent the edges from curling up. If they do, the heat is too high, and the skin may scorch. Cook for 2 minutes, flip and cook 1 minute more.
- Remove from the heat and allow to rest while you assemble the salad.
- Lay the watercress on a platter and tumble over the potatoes. Spoon over the raita, top with the fried fish and finally the crispy onions and 2 tbsp roasted rice. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
To discover more about the health benefits of watercress, visit www.thewatercresscompany.com or for more recipe inspiration go to www.watercress.co.uk or https://www.facebook.com/LoveWatercress/ or https://www.instagram.com/lovewatercress/