Grilled Mackerel with eggplant salad (Skoubri me Melitzanosalata) - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Grilled Mackerel with eggplant salad (Skoubri me Melitzanosalata)


photo by Felicia Peretti

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Italian eggplants (about 2 pounds)
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1/4 cup cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/3 cup chopped mint
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 4 mackerel fillets, skin on

Instructions
 

  • Cook the eggplant and peppers on a grill or stove top until the flesh is soft and the skin is charred. Set aside to cool.
  • Peel the peppers, discard the ribs and seeds, and roughly chop the flesh. Peel the eggplant as well and roughly chop it. Combine in a bowl. Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar and add to the bowl, mixing well to combine. Stir in the parsley, mint and red pepper flakes and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside while you cook the mackerel; add the walnuts to the salad just before serving.
  • To cook the fish, heat a grill or grill pan until very hot and grease it well. Season the fish with salt and pepper, then place skin-side down on the grill. Cook until 5 to 8 minutes, until the flesh has firmed and the skin is crisp. Remove from the grill. Serve each fillet with the eggplant salad. To drink, Soukakos finds this dish goes equally well with a broad, citrusy white like Papagiannakos Malagousia from Attika or a xinomavro like Domaine Karydas from Naoussa.


This story appears in the print issue of August 2016.
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