This week Eden Sinclair of Sinclair's Restaurant gives us his recipe for a mackerel dish.

If you’ve not been across to the west coast then you really should try to do so, fantastic scenery, some of the best sunrises and sunsets you’ll find in the UK and, as for the fishing, well it’s no surprise that some of the best competition anglers head this way, nor that shellfish catches are rapidly sent to France and Spain, such is the quality.

We all managed to line catch a few mackerel and, after a wee lesson for the boys in filleting, grilled it on the BBQ that evening – nothing beats it! With its sparkling, silvery belly and iridescent stripes, the mackerel is a really eye-catching fish.

Not delicate in flavour – a simple lemon and herb pairing may not suffice – but, given the right treatment, it is a fantastically moist, flavoursome fish that makes an inexpensive and very healthy meal.

A nice spicy treatment works well, as does something sharp – gooseberry or rhubarb are good traditional accompaniments. (I make it into a pate regularly – being a born and bred west-coaster, I never go home without a rod in the boot – Ed).

RECIPE

Grilled mackerel with horseradish potato & watercress salad

Serves four

Ingredients

Eight mackerel fillets

500g new potatoes

Two shallots finely chopped

Two tablespoons crème fraîche

Two tablespoons chopped chives

Large bunch of watercress

Two tablespoons creamed horseradish

Two tablespoons Scottish cold pressed rapeseed oil

Pinch salt

Lemon, tomato & cucumber to garnish

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.

Boil potatoes until tender (approximately 10 mins depending on the variety – you can check they are ready with a skewer).

Drain, allow to cool and cut into quarters.

Add the shallots, crème fraîche & creamed horseradish and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Grill the mackerel fillets skin side up for around four - five mins.

Plate Up

Divide the potato salad between four plates and add a pile of watercress to each.

Place two mackerel fillets on top of each salad & drizzle with cold pressed rapeseed oil.

Garnish with 1cm cubes of tomato and cucumber. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Top Tip

Try to have a picnic on the white sands at Morar. There’s roadside parking only but enough space to safely leave room for others to get through on the single track road. Think Caribbean, white sugary sands, cerulean blue gently shelving waters. It’s a much sought after place so you’ll need to be quick!