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.
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.