Mackerel Salad With Wild Rice, Spiced Pecans & Avocado

Try this Mackerel Salad With Wild Rice, Spiced Pecans & Avocado recipe.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

75g wild rice
1 small cinnamon stick
1 red chilli, split lengthways
1⁄2 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar 1⁄4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
50g pecan nuts
1⁄2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 mackerel fillets
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly chopped coriander
1 ripe avocado, cut into pieces
1 small bunch of watercress, washed

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2
2. Simmer the wild rice, cinnamon and chilli in plenty of water until tender but still al dente, and strain (check your packet of wild rice for timings, and taste for tenderness). Leave to cool.
3. Caramelise the red onion in a pan in 1 tablespoon of the oil until soft. Add the vinegar and paprika and continue to cook until the vinegar has evaporated, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
4. Toss the pecans with the cumin seeds, salt and 1 tablespoon water. Bake for 10minutes or until golden (keep checking to make sure they don’t scorch).
5. Meanwhile, score the skin of the mackerel fillets and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy-based frying pan and drizzle the skin of the fish with the remaining olive oil. Sear skin-down first for 2/3 minutes, then flip and repeat on the flesh side.
6. Mix the rice, onion, coriander, avocado and watercress together and arrange on 4 plates.Place the mackerel fillet on top and sprinkle with the pecans to serve.

The Carousel thanks the Clean & Lean Diet Cookbook for this recipe, $24.95, Available at Bodyism.com