Roasted mackerel fillets with spring vegetables

I got inspiration for this recipe from an article in the French magazine ELLE about a young British chef who recently had opened a restaurant in Marseille. He told that he sometimes gets inspiration for his dishes while buying fresh fish from fishermen in the Vieux- Port.

For my recipe, I have used fresh fish and spring vegetables from our supermarket in Nice.

2 servings

For the lentil purée:

50 ml green lentils
1 spring onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
A bunch of parsley, minced

For the vegetables:

6 green asparagus
1 tbsp. olive oil
50 ml vegetable stock
100 ml fresh peas
Freshly ground black pepper
Zest and a few drops of juice from organic lemon

For the fish:

4 mackerels, filleted
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. piment d'Espelette or other mild chilli powder
Butter for the oven tray

Place the lentils in 250 ml water in a small casserole. Add the spring onion and garlic and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Check now and again if you need to add a little water, it should be almost evaporated when the lentils are done. Set aside covered. Then purée with olive oil and parsley with hand- held mixer.

Wash and peel the asparagus. Cut into about 5 cm long pieces discarding the tough bottom part. Place in a large frying pan with olive oil and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the peas and vegetable stock, cover and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the zest and a few drops of lemon juice and grind over some black pepper.

Meanwhile roast the mackerel fillets. Butter an ovenproof dish and place the mackerels in it skin- side up. Sprinkle the fillets with piment d'Espelette and olive oil and roast in 210° C for about 12 minutes depending on the size of the fish.

When the fish is done divide it on the plates. Place the lentil purée on the side, add the vegetables from the frying pan and decorate with some basil leaves.