Pan fried mackerel with Iberico chorizo

Mmmmm...mackerel, how healthy are these fish! After the usual visit to the local pescaderia we came home with what seemed like kilos of mackerel. The initial idea was for a main meal but given the fact that the fish we had bought were a bit on the small size (not the usual giants) a few tapas experiments followed for the Friday lunchtime menu prior to all manner of marinade ideas for later that evening.

I must admit to being a fish filleting virgin prior to moving to Andalucia, seeing the fish guy do his stuff and making it look incredibly easy made me want to set about these fresh little gems on a weekly basis, its not just the prepping up (which I enjoy) but also the fact that you can make a cracking fish stock with the leftovers - my search for a whole monkfish head continues for a seafood paella, maybe one day this summer...

A ham carving knife comes in handy (no special fish filleting weapons in our rustic cave kitchen) so the 6 small mackerel were duley filleted, bones in a Spanish olla, boiled up for the next seafood paella. Like all simple dishes something like this takes very little time, the fillets themselves take under 3 minutes pan fried in olive oil and for the chorizo twist just a minute more.

Ingredients:

2 Small mackerel (filleted)
Flour
8 Slices Iberian chorizo
Baby spinack leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Quick Spanish Lunch:

Dust a plate with flour and add a pinch of salt and pepper to season, mix up.

Cover the mackerel fillets in the flour, both sides.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add the mackerel fillets, fry for a minute or so each side until done.

Meanwhile slice the Iberian chorizo into 2mm slices.

Lay your spinach on a plate and lay the mackerel on top, throw the chorizo in the pan and fry for one minute before serving with the fish.

Garnish with lemon and drizzle with a good extra virgin.