So I still have some remaining supplies that my friend had kindly given to me to try and use in my recipes. Some rhubarb from her allotment and some borage that she had foraged whilst on her walk. It was the first time that I had seen borage or paid any attention to it. It has attractive edible blue flowers and also an almost fury/prickly stem and green leaves. I immediately thought that the leaves would look amazing on a plate of food which they do but unfortunately I forgot to add it to the dish! I know what a plonka! It was too late by the time I realised and looked down at the half eaten plate of food! . I really recommend you try this dish . This dish is very simple and it taste amazing, it is simplicity at its finest using unique ingredients.
The first thing I did when being presented with the borage was to taste it, it tastes different to how it looks and is like a musty cucumber. I can honestly say that It was made to go with mackerel, the earthy cucumber taste just goes hand in hand with the oily , dense meat of mackerel .

Borage oil
Ingredients
- Borage
- Cornish Rape seed oil
- Salt
I put the stem and the leaves in a nutri- bullet with the oil and salt and gave it a quick blend just to break it down so it would release some of its goodness into the oil.

Beetroot slices
Ingredients
- Beetroot
- Cornish Rape Seed Oil
- Salt
Take the beetroots and mandolin them in to fin slices into a baking tray . If you haven’t purchased a mandolin yet then please get one, its a game changer, just watch your fingers! Drizzle in oil and season with Cornish sea salt. Put in a hot preheated oven until cooked ( 15 minutes)

Rhubarb
- Rhubarb
- Cornish Strawberry Vinegar
- Butter
- Sea Salt
Slice the rhubarb into chunks and put in a pan with butter on a medium heat. Cook until it goes soft but does not lose its shape, add a dash of Cornish Strawberry vinegar just to give a little sweetness to the sour.

The Mackerel
Ingredients
- Locally caught fresh Mackerel
- Salt
Add Cornish rape seed oil to a frying pan that is on a medium/ high heat. Make sure the mackerel skin is dry and season with salt. Place into the pan and push down to make sure it does not curl up. Depending on the size of the fish leave for 3-4 minutes then flip the fish over and cook for a remaining 2 minutes.

The skin should be crisp and you should be able to see that it is cooked through.
Compiling it together
Ingredients
- Horseradish root
Plate everything together and drizzle the borage oil over the fish and grate some fresh horseradish on top and dive in. This really would be a great dish with a sparkly white wine. I’m yet to try some camel valley sparkling wine but it is on my list and I’m sure it would go with this a treat.

The freshness of the fish and the borage oil really complement one another, I found that it almost tasted garlicky even though there was no garlic in it. The borage enhances the depth of flavour of the mackerel which makes it lucious, just make sure that the mackerel is as fresh as you can get it. The tartness of the rhubarb then cuts through the full flavoured fish. The horseradish then cuts through the rhubarb and the beetroot then gives the meal a sweet, crisp balance and another texture.
I’m realising that rhubarb can be used as a substitute to the acidic fruits such as limes and lemons. As i’m only cooking with 100% Cornish ingredients then rhubarb is going to be my acidic/ sour flavour saviour and it grows for most of the year which is a result ! It has the same tartness as a lime or lemon but just not the juice however as you cook it, it breaks down very quickly, ill be experimenting in using it in its broken down form to add sourness to dishes.
Anyhow this dish is a perfect meal, quick to make, the flavours all complement one another and its so simple. Once again its about the freshness of the ingredients and using simple techniques to bring out the natural flavours.
I hope you enjoy
Mr Whealfood.
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