britishfood

Great Britain has a coastline of some 7700 miles and nowhere in the entire nation is further than 73 miles from the sea, so it’s hardly surprising that fishing makes up a key part of the country’s history and food supply. In fact, I grew up on the coast, where fishing boats still bring their catch to shore every morning. Some of my ancestors were fishermen. So it should come as no surprise that this week I will be sharing some seafood recipes from around the British coast.

We’ll start with mackerel, pictured above.

Devon Soused Mackerel (from Salmon’s Favourite Seafood Recipes)

6 medium mackerel

1 onion, sliced

16 peppercorns

3 bay leaves

¼ pint cider vinegar

¼ pint water

Preheat oven to 350F or Gas 4. Gut and wash the fish (or you maybe able to buy them already gutted). Put them in a large baking dish and sprinkle the onion, peppercorns and bay leaves on top. Mix the vinegar and water and pour over the fish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Let the fish cool in the liquid then remove from pan and serve with crusty bread, lemon wedges and salad.