serves
2
prep
1 hour
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
2
people
preparation
1
hour
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 250 g blue mackerel fillets (or 2 fillets Tommy ruff)
- pinch sea salt flakes
- pinch ground native pepper leaf
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp finely chopped chives, plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill, plus extra sprigs to serve
- 2 tsp mayonnaise
- 4 slices rye bread
- 30 g butter, at room temperature
- 1 baby cucumber (cuke), thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp capers
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 75 g sour cream
Pickling liquid
- 1 ½ tbsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tsp ground native pepper leaf
- 125 ml (½ cup) white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 leaves anise myrtle
- 2 strips lemon zest
Cooling time: 30 minutes
Standing time: 30 minutes
Instructions
- For the pickling liquid, place all the ingredients in a saucepan along with 250 ml (1 cup) water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stand to cool, then refrigerate until cold.
- Generously season the mackerel fillets with a good pinch of salt and ground native pepper leaf, then stand for 5 minutes.
- Add the fish to the cooled vinegar solution and stand for at least 30 minutes.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add the egg and simmer for 8 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Peel the egg, cut in half, then separate the yolk from the white. Push the white through a course strainer over a bowl, then push the yolk through the same strainer into a separate bowl. Add the chopped chives and dill and mayonnaise to the chopped egg white and stir to combine.
- Remove the fish fillets from the vinegar brine, pat dry, then thinly slice.
- To assemble, toast the rye bread, spread with butter, then arrange the pieces of sliced fish over the bread and layer with sliced cucumber, capers and red onion. Add a spoonful of the egg white mixture into the middle, with a spoon of the egg yolk on top of that. Place a small scoop of sour cream in the middle and garnish with extra dill sprigs and chopped chives.
Photography by Kitti Gould.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
