Mackerel. Cauliflower

Cauliflower is the most versatile vegetable you can buy: it consists of outer leaves, outer leaves stalks, inner stem, large florets, small florets, all of which can be treated as standalone ingredients. This is complemented by mackerel, a fish we can still, thankfully, eat without guilt. This whole dish costs less than HKD20 to make, and most components can be made ahead of time.

Serves 2

Time: 🕰🕰🕰
Effort: 💪💪

Ingredients:

1 mackerel fillet
1/2 head cauliflower, with outer leaves (!)
100ml cream
20g unsalted butter
1 garlic clove
1/2 potato
1 star anise
Rice vinegar
Lemon juice
Water
Sugar
Salt
2 florets romanesco (optional)

Method:

For the pickled mackerel

1. Boil water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt until well mixed
2. Taste to adjust to desired sweetness and acidity
3. Cool down to room temperature
4. Soak mackerel fillet in pickling liquid for around 3 hours

For the outer leaf stems

1. Separate leaves from stalks
2. Cut stalks diagonally into small pieces
3. Toast in olive oil and salt for 5 minutes, flipping from time to time
4. Add a splash of white wine to deglaze

For the cauliflower couscous

1. Roast cauliflower florets and inner stem in oven with salt, olive oil, and whole garlic clove, skin on; about 20 minutes at 200’C
2. Remove garlic
3. Boil the roasted florets and stem in milk and butter for 10 minutes until soft
4. Blend until the cauliflower pieces turn into couscous like texture
5. Strain and reserve liquid as a soup base
6. Toast cauliflower couscous in a dry pan without flipping, until bottom is

For the pickled mini-florets

1. Boil water, olive oil, sugar, lemon juice together, with a dash of salt
2. Cool down to room temperature
3. Add star anise
4. Add small cauliflower florets and pickle in fridge at least overnight