My parents are here for the holidays and, like every year, I get to eat food from my childhood cooked by my mother. We used to eat a lot of fish when living in Italy and today I will share my mother’s recipe for one of my favourite dishes: Sicilian Sweet and Sour Mackerel – aka how to turn simple fish into a gourmet make-ahead meal! I have already told you how much I like sweet and sour anything, right? And fish is no exception. Besides, sardines and mackerel are my favourite type of fish, so this recipe is a total winner in my book. Besides, who doesn’t like a dish that can be made in advance? Actually, I recommend you keep it at least 24 hours in the fridge before you eat it, as it tastes much better the next day! Buon appetito!
Sicilian Sweet and Sour Mackerel
Sicilian Sweet and Sour Mackerel - aka how to turn simple fish into a gourmet make-ahead meal!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 500 gms – 1 lb. mackerel fillets with the skin on
- 1/3 cup flour
- Salt to taste
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- Vegetable oil for shallow frying
Instructions
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Season the mackerel fillets with salt and dust them with flour.
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Shallow fry them in hot vegetable oil, until golden on both sides and cooked through. Put in a glass bowl/container.
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Put the extra virgin olive oil in a clean frying pan and lightly fry the garlic clove, bay leaves and oregano in it. Make sure not to burn the garlic or it will taste bitter.
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In the meantime, dissolve the sugar in the red wine vinegar and add it to the oil and garlic. Let the alcohol evaporate and then pour the sweet and sour mixture over the fried mackerel.
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Let the fish cool down, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving it. Make sure to bring it back to room temperature before eating it.
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