Mackerel with Harissa Couscous

Recipe for: MACKEREL with Harissa Couscous

Ingredients: 

• Mackerel fillets (2 per person), de-boned
• 3 tblsp olive oil
• Grated zest & juice of one lime (or lemon)
• Sml bunch spring onions, chopped
• 1 tblsp harissa paste (or more to taste)
• 125g couscous (serves 2)
• 400ml hot vegetable stock
• 3 tblsp chopped coriander, inc stalks

Method: 

1. heat grill to high
2. lightly oil a baking tray
3. place mackerel fillets on tray, skin-side up
4. if fillets are large, put a couple of diagonal slashes across the fish
5. rub fillets with a little olive oil
6. season with salt & pepper
7. grate over the lime zest and drizzle over a little of the juice
8. allow to marinate for five minutes before grilling 3-5 minutes, depending on size (no need to turn the fillets – the fish should cook through from the skin-side)
9. meanwhile make the harissa couscous:
10. in a lidded casserole dish, fry half the spring onions, harissa & coriander stalks in a little oil until beginning to soften
11. tip in the couscous and stir to coat in the hot oil
12. add the hot stock, stirring to mix evenly
13. remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave for five minutes
14. while the couscous is swelling, put the mackerel under the grill to cook
15. after five minutes, fluff up the couscous with a fork, adding a knob of butter, the rest of the lime juice and the rest of the spring onions and coriander
16. serve the mackerel over a pile of couscous

What else you need to know: 

1. you can add other things to the couscous – finely chopped peppers, mushrooms etc
2. serve with a side-dish of mixed mushrooms or a salad