Easy and sophisticated, nothing says Easter like pickled fish. Swap the bread with hot-cross buns, if you are feeling adventurous. 

Pickled fish toast

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients

8 slices bread of your choice
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup mixed sesame seeds

1 tub (500g) store-bought pickled fish
1 avocado
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and milled pepper
1 spring onion, peeled into ribbons (see cook’s Tip).
Coriander or micro leaves, to garnish 

Method

1. Cut each slice of bread into 4 squares.
2. Spread the butter on both sides of the bread. Press only the buttered side of the bread into the sesame seeds, ensuring it sticks well. 
3. Heat a pan over medium heat and toast the bread on both sides. 
4. Top the toast with pickled fish (don’t skimp on the onions and sauce in the tub). 
5. Cut the avo into blocks, add lemon zest and juice. Season. 
6. Top the toast with avo cubes, spring onion curls and herbs. Season with milled pepper. 

Cook’s tip: Use a sharp vegetable peeler to shave the spring onion into ribbons, down the length. Place the ribbons into ice water for 15-20 minutes for them to curl up.

Recipes & styling: Lichelle May
Photography: Zhann Solomons

The post Pickled fish toast appeared first on MyKitchen.

It can’t be Easter weekend without pickled fish! Editor Chad January shows you exactly how to mix the seasoning, fry the fish and make the sauce. Plus, he shares his three favourite ways to make the most of the leftovers.   

How To Make Pickled Fish  

1. Season The Fish  

Creating your own spice mix may take a bit of extra effort, but it’s worth it! If time, however, is short, store-bought works just as well! Toasting whole spices before grinding releases their flavour and aroma. You’ll know they’re ready when you smell the pungent fragrance. Keep a close watch: they toast quickly and should be removed before there is smoke.  

Fish Masala Spice Mix 

Makes ¾  Cup 

Ingredients

¼ cup coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp black peppercorns
8 cloves handful fresh or dried curry leaves
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp medium curry powder
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 pinch salt

Method

1. Toast coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cloves and curry leaves in a dry, hot pan for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. 
2. Cool completely and grind in a pestle and mortar until fine.
3. Combine with garlic powder, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, turmeric and salt.  
4. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Chef’s Tip: Add some olive oil and lemon juice to your spice mix to make a paste. Add this to a quick dinner for a flavour boost.  

2. Fry The Fish  

Cook the fish your way: batter and deep-fry the fish, or simply pan-fry.   

Deep-Fried Fish

Ingredients

vegetable oil, for deep frying
2kg firm white fish (we used hake)
salt and milled black pepper
2 cups cake flour
2 tbsp fish masala spice mix
2 cups milk

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Portion fish, pat dry with kitchen paper and season. 
2. Combine cake flour, spice mix and milk. Season well. 
3. Dip each fish portion in batter to coat evenly. 
4. Deep-fry in hot oil for 4-6 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and repeat with remaining fish and batter. Be sure not to overcrowd your pan. 

Pan-Fried Fish  

Ingredients

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2kg firm white fish
salt and milled black pepper
2 tbsp fish masala spice mix
1 cup cake flour   

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan. Portion fish and dry with kitchen paper. 
2. Season fish and sprinkle with masala spice mix. 
3. Dip each portion in cake flour to coat lightly. Dust off excess. 
4. Fry fish in batches for about 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper. 

3. Pickle The Fish 

Serves 6-8 • Total Time 45 Min [Plus Pickling] 

Ingredients

1 portion deep-fried or pan-fried fish
5 cups water
4 cups white spirit vinegar
3-4 bay leaves
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp fish masala spice mix
2 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 cups brown sugar
290g apricot jam
2 tbsp cornflour
6-8 onions, sliced into rings

Method

1. Arrange cooked fish in a deep baking tray or large bowl with a lid. 
2. Combine water, vinegar, bay leaves and spices in a large pot. 
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and keep it there for about 8 minutes. 
4. Add sugar and jam and simmer on high for 10-12 minutes. 
5. Mix cornflour and ¼  cup of pickling sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. Adjust seasoning to taste. 
6. Add onion and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool slightly. 
7. Pour pickling liquid over fish and cool completely, cover and refrigerate. 
8. Pickle for at least 48 hours before serving, or store for up 3 weeks. 
9. Serve with garlic naan, hot cross buns, rotis or a side salad. 

Top Tip: Make a raita with plain yoghurt, grated cucumber, red chilli, chopped red onion, and fresh coriander. Season well. This creamy sauce is to die for dolloped onto the pickled fish.  

Three Ways With Pickled Fish 

Pickled fish Buddha bowl 

Serves 2 • Total Time 20 Min 

Ingredients

2 cups cooked pearl or regular couscous
salt and milled black pepper
2 tbsp fresh coriander
¼ cup lemon juice plus zest
2 cups pickled fish
60g mange tout, cooked and sliced
200g cauliflower florets, roasted
¼ head red cabbage, shredded

Method

1. Season couscous and toss through coriander, lemon juice and zest. 
2. Divide between two serving bowls. 
3. Divide pickled fish, mange tout, cauliflower and cabbage between serving bowls. 
4. Drizzle with extra pickled fish sauce. 

Quick pickled fish pâté 

Serves 4-6 • Total Time 20 Min 

Ingredients

2 tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups pickled fish, bones discarded
¼ cup pickled fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
handful fresh coriander
salt and milled black pepper
handful spring onion, sliced

Method 

1. Blitz beans, fish, sauce, garlic and coriander. Season well with salt and pepper. 
2. Serve on toasted ciabatta or hot cross buns, sprinkled with spring onion. 

Pickled fish tart 

Serves 4 • Total Time 35 Min 

Ingredients

400g puff pastry
2 tbsp melted butter
2 cups pickled fish
½ punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
4-5 radishes, sliced
handful fresh coriander, chopped
lime wedges, to serve   

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Roll out puff pastry into a 3mm thick rectangle and score a 5cm border with a sharp knife. Brush with the melted butter. 
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. 
4. Serve topped with fish, tomatoes and radishes and garnish with coriander. Serve with lime or lemon wedges.

Photography: Fresh Living Magazine  

The post Our Editor’s Famous Pickled Fish Recipe appeared first on MyKitchen.

If you’re looking for ways to elevate your pickled fish, Chef Keanon Michaels has a few fish-tastic tips to help you out! In his interview with Food24, he advised:

– Vinegar is a personal preference, whether you’re using white vinegar or brown. Brown, however, is his go-to.
– A fish with firm flesh is ideal as it holds the pickle better, like snoek, yellowtail and kabeljou. Try to steer clear of flaky fish like hake.
– Instead of dry ones, opt for fresh bay leaves – they are a lot more flavourful and will elevate the taste of the dish.
– The onions and sauce shouldn’t outweigh the fish so remember to KEEP THE FISH THE HERO OF YOUR DISH.

Traditional Cape Malay-style pickled fish

SERVES 4–6 | COOKING TIME 55 min

It’s never too early for pickled fish! We kept this traditional recipe super straightforward and delicious – the good old-fashioned way.

INGREDIENTS

⅓ cup flour
650g hake fillets, cut into pieces
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 cloves
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1½ cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 bay leaves

METHOD

1. Season the flour well with salt and pepper. Coat the hake in the flour and shake off any excess.
2. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the hake for 3–4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove from the pan and arrange in a glass dish.
3. Heat some more oil in the pan and fry the onion until soft and translucent, about 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add fennel seeds and spices, and fry until fragrant.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until slightly reduced.
5. Pour this pickling mixture over the fish, cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
6. Enjoy your traditional pickled fish with a side of roast veg, or on toast!

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Sean Dollery // HMimages.co.za

Take your next seafood recipes to the braai with these hake kebabs and mushy peas.

Healthy pickled fish platter with corn pâté

SERVES 4 | COOKING TIME 1 hour 30 min

Instead of making pickled fish your side, make it the star of the show with our pickled fish platter with corn pâté that everyone can munch on.

INGREDIENTS

For the corn pâté

200g butter
2 mielies, kernels only
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves
½ cup brandy

For the pickled fish platter

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1½ cups white vinegar
½ cup sugar
Flour, to dust
Salt and black pepper
500g white fish fillets

To serve

1 amasi cheese ball
Baby corn
Baby marrows

METHOD

For the corn paté
1. Melt 2 tbsp butter and fry the mielie kernels, onion, thyme and garlic until golden. Add the brandy and reduce for 10–15 minutes.
2. Add the remaining butter. Use a blender to mix to a smooth paste.
3. Refrigerate the pâté for 1 hour, until completely set.

For the pickled fish platter
1. Sterilise a large glass container big enough to fit the pickled fish.
2. Heat a little oil in a pot and fry the onion until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic, bay leaves and spices. Fry for a few minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Season the flour. Dust the fish with it, patting off any excess.
5. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the fish until golden but still succulent inside, about 3 minutes per side.
6. Place a layer of fish at the bottom of the glass container. Pour over the sauce until the fish is just covered. Continue layering until fish and sauce are finished.
7. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve
1. Serve the pickled fish and corn pâté with amasi cheese, baby corn and baby marrows.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

Speaking of seafood favourites, our smoked snoek pâté makes a tasty addition to your nosh boards!

Pickled fish

SERVES 6 // COOKING TIME 40 min

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil
4 onions, sliced into rings
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
5 tsp mild curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 bay leaves
1L white vinegar
300g sugar
Flour, to dust
2kg hake fillets, cut into portions

METHOD

1. Heat oil and fry onions until soft. Add garlic, ginger and spices, and fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add vinegar and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Season flour with salt and pepper, and dust the fish in it. Pat off any excess flour.
4. Heat oil and shallow-fry fish until golden, 2–3 minutes per side.
5. Place a layer of fish in a deep sterilised glass container. Ladle sauce over it. Layer fish and sauce until finished. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

TIP: For the best results, allow the fish to pickle for 3 days to combine all the flavours.

The post The Best Fish To Use For Pickled Fish appeared first on MyKitchen.

Cape Town’s signature sandwich, served up MK style. Say what now? Gatsbys are bread rolls split lengthways, filled with hot chips and meat, chicken or seafood, and covered with trimmings and sauce. The sandwich received its name because it’s as decadent as the wealthy characters in F Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel (besides pickled fish, you can cram it full of Viennas, polony, masala steak or just about anything else you fancy). But that’s where the similarities end. Greasy, satisfying and now an SA cultural icon, this meal in a roll certainly gets a green light from us.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white spirit vinegar
⅓ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp curry powder
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 cup flour
1 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp sultanas
Zest of 1 lemon
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
¼ tsp white pepper
600g hake fillets
1 large potato, peeled and cut into matchsticks
8 mini rolls, halved

METHOD
1. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, curry powder, peppercorns and salt in a large pot and bring to the boil. Add the onion and bay leaf and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about five minutes.
2. Combine two tablespoons of flour with the butter and add to the vinegar mixture. Turn up the heat slightly and cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir constantly until the sauce has thickened and the taste of flour has cooked away.
3. Add the sultanas and lemon zest and stir to combine. Take the pot off the heat and set aside.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan. Season the flour with salt and white pepper and dust the hake fillets in it.
5. Fry the fish until golden on both sides and cooked through. Drain on paper towel, then add to the pot with the sauce, mixing well to coat it.
6. Half-fill a deep pot with vegetable oil and heat to 160°C. Fry the potato matchsticks until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel and season well with salt.
7. To assemble, slice open the half rolls and fill each one with pickled fish and matchstick chips. Secure each mini Gatsby with a toothpick or skewer.

The post Mini pickled fish Gatsbys with matchstick chips appeared first on MyKitchen.

It’s never too early for pickled fish! We kept this traditional recipe super straightforward and delicious – the good old-fashioned way.

SERVES 4–6 // COOKING TIME 55 min

INGREDIENTS
⅓  cup flour
650 g hake fillets, cut into pieces
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 cloves
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1½ cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 bay leaves

METHOD
1. Season the flour well with salt and pepper. Coat the hake in the flour and shake off any excess.
2. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the hake for 3–4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove from the pan and arrange in a glass dish.
3. Heat some more oil in the pan and fry the onion until soft and translucent, about 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add fennel seeds and spices, and fry until fragrant.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until slightly reduced.
5. Pour this pickling mixture over the fish, cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
6. Enjoy your traditional pickled fish with a side of roast veg, or on toast!

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Sean Dollery // HMimages.co.za

Take your next seafood recipes to the braai with these hake kebabs and mushy peas.

The post Traditional Cape Malay-style pickled fish appeared first on MyKitchen.

Instead of making pickled fish your side, make it the star of the show with our pickled fish platter with corn pâté that everyone can munch on.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 30 min

INGREDIENTS
For the corn pâté
200 g butter
2 mielies, kernels only
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves
½ cup brandy
For the pickled fish platter
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1½ cups white vinegar
½ cup sugar
Flour, to dust
Salt and black pepper
500 g white fish fillets
To serve
1 amasi cheese ball
Baby corn
Baby marrows

METHOD
For the corn paté
1. Melt 2 tbsp butter and fry the mielie kernels, onion, thyme and garlic until golden. Add the brandy and reduce for 10–15 minutes.
2. Add the remaining butter. Use a blender to mix to a smooth paste.
3. Refrigerate the pâté for 1 hour, until completely set.
For the pickled fish platter
1. Sterilise a large glass container big enough to fit the pickled fish.
2. Heat a little oil in a pot and fry the onion until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic, bay leaves and spices. Fry for a few minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Season the flour. Dust the fish with it, patting off any excess.
5. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the fish until golden but still succulent inside, about 3 minutes per side.
6. Place a layer of fish at the bottom of the glass container. Pour over the sauce until the fish is just covered. Continue layering until fish and sauce are finished.
7. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve
1. Serve the pickled fish and corn pâté with amasi cheese, baby corn and baby marrows.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

Speaking of seafood favourites, our smoked snoek pâté makes a tasty addition to your nosh boards!

The post Healthy pickled fish platter with corn pâté appeared first on MyKitchen.