Ingredients

• 140ml/4½fl oz white wine vinegar
• 140ml/4½fl oz dry white wine
• 1 piece lemon rind
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 6 peppercorns
• 2 good-sized mackerel
• filleted and pin-boned
• 1 tbsp oil
• 30g/1oz butter
• 55g/2oz butter
• 450g/1lb rhubarb
• half roughly chopped and half cut into 2.5cm/1in batons
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 2.5cm/1in root ginger
• peeled and crushed
• splash of grenadine
• ½ lemon
• juice only
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp fennel seeds

Directions

• For the mackerel
• put the vinegar
• wine
• lemon rind
• star anise
• salt and peppercorns in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour into a tray and lay the mackerel fillets in the liquid skin-side up. Leave to cool.
• For the rhubarb
• melt the butter with the sugar in a clean pan. Add the ginger and roughly chopped rhubarb. Cook gently until it becomes a purée
• then break it up using a wooden spoon. Add the grenadine and rhubarb batons. Cook gently
• keeping the batons whole.
• Meanwhile
• take the mackerel fillets out of the liquid and carefully dry. Heat the oil in a frying pan
• add the mackerel
• skin-side up
• and cook for approximately five minutes. Meanwhile
• add 30g/1oz butter and continually baste the mackerel with this.
• In a clean pan make the sauce. Heat the butter until it starts to turn golden-brown. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice
• parsley and fennel seeds.
• To serve
• lay the rhubarb in the middle of serving plates. Carefully lay the mackerel on top. Spoon the sauce over and serve.