- 1 large fennel bulb
- 1 large orange
- 1 pink grapefruit
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 whole mackerel, cleaned and gutted
- 100g/3½oz butter, softened
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- ½ tsp English mustard powder
- 2 tsp red or white wine vinegar
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
- For the orange and fennel salad, trim off the base of the fennel bulb with a knife, then shave the fennel into very thin slices using a mandoline.
- Immerse the fennel slices in a bowl of iced water and leave to soak and crisp up for 10-12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the orange, following the curve of the fruit.
- Hold the peeled orange over a sieve set on top of a bowl to catch the juices, and cut along the membranes to remove the flesh of each orange segment.
- Squeeze out any juice from the pulp into the bowl and discard the pulp.
- Repeat the segmenting and juice collecting process with the grapefruit. Place the orange and grapefruit segments into a bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the collected citrus juices with the olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Drain the fennel slices and mix with the citrus segments. Pour over the dressing and mix well.
- For the devilled mackerel, heat the grill to its highest setting.
- Using a sharp knife, slash each mackerel at 2cm/1in intervals along both sides, then place into a baking dish.
- Mix the butter, cayenne pepper, sweet smoked paprika, coriander, caster sugar, mustard powder and vinegar together in a bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Rub the spiced butter all over the mackerels, including inside their cavities.
- Place the mackerel onto a grill tray and place under the grill to cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until the fish is just firm and cooked through.
- To serve, place a fish onto each plate and serve with the fennel, grapefruit and orange salad on the side.