Mediterranean mackerel stew with tomatoes and olives (55 minutes)

By Nikola · Precision Nutrition L1 · Sources checked 2026-11-05

Mackerel has a rich, full flavour that holds its own against tomato, olives and bay leaf, the kind of sauce that would drown a delicate white fish. In this stew the sauce and the potatoes cook first, and the mackerel goes in only for the last ten minutes, so it stays moist and in neat pieces.

It is a good way to get oily fish into an ordinary weeknight. According to USDA data, 100 g of raw Atlantic mackerel has about 0.9 g EPA and 1.4 g DHA, the long-chain omega-3 fats oily fish are known for.

Difficulty: Easy, one pan · Diet: Gluten-free, dairy-free

Mediterranean mackerel stew with tomatoes and olives

Mackerel cooked on a tomato, potato and black olive stew with bay leaf and lemon. One pan, 55 minutes, about 27 g protein per serving.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Fish

Servings 4 servings

Calories 459 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
• 1 large onion about 150 g, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper about 150 g, cut into strips
• 3 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 15 g
• 1 can chopped tomatoes 400 g
• 2 medium potatoes about 400 g, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 300 ml water 1 1/4 cups
• 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp fine salt 3 g; the olives add more
• 500 g mackerel fillets skin on (4-5 fillets), cut into 5 cm pieces
• 60 g pitted black olives about 1/2 cup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 15 ml, plus wedges to serve
• A small handful of parsley about 10 g, chopped
• Black pepper

Instructions

 

• Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, deep pan or shallow casserole with a lid. Add the onion and pepper with a pinch of salt and cook for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft.
• Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes, potatoes, water, bay leaves, oregano and salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. The potatoes are ready when a knife slides in with only slight resistance.
• While the sauce cooks, run your fingers along the fillets and pull out any pin bones with tweezers. Season the fish lightly with pepper.
• Scatter the olives over the sauce and lay the mackerel on top, skin side up, pressing each piece gently so it sits half in the sauce. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes without stirring, until the flesh is opaque all the way through and flakes when pressed with a fork.
• Take the pan off the heat, remove the bay leaves and sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley. Let it rest for 2 minutes, then serve with lemon wedges and bread for the sauce.

Keyword autumn, gluten-free, mackerel, oily fish, olives, omega-3, one pan, potatoes, tomatoes

Nutrition per serving

Per serving, 1/4 of the pan (about 125 g raw fish each), calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) values per 100 g for each ingredient.

Data: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: oil, olive (FDC 171413); onions, raw (170000); peppers, sweet, red, raw (170108); garlic, raw (169230); tomato paste, without salt added (170459); tomatoes, canned, packed in tomato juice (170051); potatoes, flesh and skin, raw (170026); fish, mackerel, Atlantic, raw (175119); olives, ripe, canned (169094); parsley, fresh (170416); lemon juice, raw (167747). Salt is calculated from the sodium in all ingredients x 2.5 and includes 0.75 g of added salt per serving; the fish, canned tomatoes and olives bring the rest. Bay leaves, oregano, pepper, the serving lemon and bread are not included. Carbohydrate is USDA “by difference” and includes fibre.

Swaps and variations

• Other oily fish: sardine fillets (cook them 5-6 minutes) or salmon pieces (8-10 minutes).
• Canned mackerel: two drained cans, added for the last 3 minutes only to warm through. Salt and nutrition will be different.
• Without potatoes: skip them and the water, simmer the sauce 10 minutes, then add the fish. Serve over bulgur or with bread.
• Green olives: they work, but they are saltier: 1560 mg sodium per 100 g against 735 mg in canned black olives (USDA). Leave out the added salt.
• A little heat: a pinch of chilli flakes with the garlic.

Storage and reheating

Best on the day. Leftovers keep up to 2 days in a closed container in the fridge. Reheat gently, covered, until piping hot (74 °C for leftovers), and stir as little as possible so the fish holds together. Cooked fish in sauce does not freeze well.

Related

• Recipes: Pomegranate, walnut and parsley salad · Autumn minestrone with pumpkin and cabbage · Stuffed peppers with bulgur and feta
• Encyclopedia: Mackerel · Olives · Tomatoes
• Diet: Mediterranean diet · 7-day Mediterranean meal plan

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