We've got good news: Leandro Carreira's sell-out residency at Climpson's Arch has been extended to run all through autumn, continuing to bring Portuguese flavours to Hackney. To celebrate, the chef shares his recipe for mackerel with cabbage.
Make Leandro Carreira's mackerel and cabbage dish
This method of cooking mackerel, from Leandro Carreira, will ensure the skin is crispy and salty, while the flesh is still deliciously juicy
Seves 2
Preparation time 60 mins
Cooking time 30 mins
Ingredients
- 1 whole mackerel (about )600g
- ½ January King cabbage
- 300g of sushi rice
- 5 tbsp of lemon juice
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
- Salt
- 200g of fresh kombu seaweed or other seaweed
Method
- Open the mackerel from the back part and butterfly. Remove all the guts and the blood line under cold water. Clean with a J-cloth, and leave it on a perforated tray for 1 hour in the fridge to allow any excess water to to drip off.
- Place the kombu inside the mackerel, then "close" the fish. Leave in the fridge covered with cling film for 10h.
- Shred the cabbage and blanch in salted water for 3m, then strain and cool down in running water. Keep 1 cup of the blanching water.
- Place the sushi rice in a pot with double the amount of water and overcook it. Once the rice is broken down, pass it through a chinois without pressing. Wait a couple minutes and let it drip, then press it with a ladle.
- Remove the seaweed from the mackerel and grill over a wood fire, until the skin is golden brown.
- Place the cabbage in a pot and stir with the olive oil. Add ½ cup of the blanched cabbage water and 4 tbsps full of the starch from the sushi rice. Stir everything well until it is a smooth texture, then check the seasoning, adding in a little salt and lemon juice.
Recipe by Leandro Carreria, L.C at Climpson’s Arch; climpsonsarch.com
