Mackerel salad with pomegranate and asparagus
Fish bones… I seriously hate them. And fish… tends to have a few in most cases. Now I really like fish, but finding an unexpected bone in it, can totally ruin my appetite. I know it’s probably silly but it’s just such a downer! Because the next thing I have to do is very carefully go through all the fish meat and find any hidden tiny nasty bone still in there… And that’s just not the best way to eat. And it takes forever too, as you’re digging through all the fish meat for minuscule bones.
If you’ve ever bought a fresh mackerel and thought you’d do the deboning yourself you know that it is one of the most horrible fishes to debone. They have so many! And in so many places too! I once got a fresh fish at the fish monger and proceeded to kill and mutilate that entire fish quite efficiently. Seriously not the best way to clean a fish… What a mess.
Ever since that day I tend to stick to smoked mackerel fillets. They are – mostly – boneless and yes even than you might be the unlucky one finding a tiny one (and you can be sure the person finding that bone will be me!)
Which is nice for the people eating together with me at the same time, as they will have no issues there. Haha… Anyway, I do love mackerel and smoked in a salad is delicious. Because it is also a fairly fatty fish it’s also filling.
If you happen to have a fish bone phobia like I do and you are avoiding mackerel at all cost, you can – of course – substitute for smoked chicken if you prefer. Or if you’d rather not eat any fish or meat and are strictly vegetarian, this would work equally well with feta or crispy baked halloumi.
How do you eat your mackerel? And if you have any tips on cleaning those pesky fishes? More than welcome! I do have a special fishbone tool but still…
Mackerel, asparagus and pomegranate salad
Ingredients
- 1 smoked mackerel fillet
- lettuce of your choice
- grated carrots 2-3 pieces
- 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- 100 gram green asparagus tips shortly blanched
- 4 radishes finely cut into slices
Dressing:
- applecider vinegar 1 tbsp
- oliveoil 3 tbsp
- pepper
- salt
- Cut or tear the mackerel fillet into smaller pieces and put into a bowl. Add the grated carrot, the lettuce, the radish, the asparagustips and the pomegranate and mix all to combine.
- make a dressing by mixing the oliveoil and apple cider and finish with pepper and salt to taste. The apple cider vinegar I use is fairly sweet so I tend to put a bit more vinegar in than the standard 3:1 ratio (3 oliveoil, 1 vinegar)
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
3 comments on “Mackerel salad with pomegranate and asparagus”
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I love smoked mackerel, so I’m sure I’d love this wonderful salad!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa!
I agree with you about fish bones! Weirdly, I’ve just put a smoked mackerel crustless quiche in the oven – fish flaked very fine to make sure there are no bones :o)