This Page

has moved to a new address:

http://farmersgirlkitchen.co.uk

Sorry for the inconvenience…

Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service
----------------------------------------------------- Blogger Template Style Name: Snapshot: Madder Designer: Dave Shea URL: mezzoblue.com / brightcreative.com Date: 27 Feb 2004 ------------------------------------------------------ */ /* -- basic html elements -- */ body {padding: 0; margin: 0; font: 75% Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #474B4E; background: #fff; text-align: center;} a {color: #DD6599; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;} a:visited {color: #D6A0B6;} a:hover {text-decoration: underline; color: #FD0570;} h1 {margin: 0; color: #7B8186; font-size: 1.5em; text-transform: lowercase;} h1 a {color: #7B8186;} h2, #comments h4 {font-size: 1em; margin: 2em 0 0 0; color: #7B8186; background: transparent url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-header1.gif) bottom right no-repeat; padding-bottom: 2px;} @media all { h3 { font-size: 1em; margin: 2em 0 0 0; background: transparent url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-header1.gif) bottom right no-repeat; padding-bottom: 2px; } } @media handheld { h3 { background:none; } } h4, h5 {font-size: 0.9em; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: 2px;} h5 {color: #7B8186;} h6 {font-size: 0.8em; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 2px;} p {margin: 0 0 1em 0;} img, form {border: 0; margin: 0;} /* -- layout -- */ @media all { #content { width: 700px; margin: 0 auto; text-align: left; background: #fff url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-body.gif) 0 0 repeat-y;} } #header { background: #D8DADC url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-headerdiv.gif) 0 0 repeat-y; } #header div { background: transparent url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/header-01.gif) bottom left no-repeat; } #main { line-height: 1.4; float: left; padding: 10px 12px; border-top: solid 1px #fff; width: 428px; /* Tantek hack - http://www.tantek.com/CSS/Examples/boxmodelhack.html */ voice-family: "\"}\""; voice-family: inherit; width: 404px; } } @media handheld { #content { width: 90%; } #header { background: #D8DADC; } #header div { background: none; } #main { float: none; width: 100%; } } /* IE5 hack */ #main {} @media all { #sidebar { margin-left: 428px; border-top: solid 1px #fff; padding: 4px 0 0 7px; background: #fff url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-sidebar.gif) 1px 0 no-repeat; } #footer { clear: both; background: #E9EAEB url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-footer.gif) bottom left no-repeat; border-top: solid 1px #fff; } } @media handheld { #sidebar { margin: 0 0 0 0; background: #fff; } #footer { background: #E9EAEB; } } /* -- header style -- */ #header h1 {padding: 12px 0 92px 4px; width: 557px; line-height: 1;} /* -- content area style -- */ #main {line-height: 1.4;} h3.post-title {font-size: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 0;} h3.post-title a {color: #C4663B;} .post {clear: both; margin-bottom: 4em;} .post-footer em {color: #B4BABE; font-style: normal; float: left;} .post-footer .comment-link {float: right;} #main img {border: solid 1px #E3E4E4; padding: 2px; background: #fff;} .deleted-comment {font-style:italic;color:gray;} /* -- sidebar style -- */ @media all { #sidebar #description { border: solid 1px #F3B89D; padding: 10px 17px; color: #C4663B; background: #FFD1BC url(http://www.blogblog.com/snapshot/bg-profile.gif); font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 0.9; margin: 0 0 0 -6px; } } @media handheld { #sidebar #description { background: #FFD1BC; } } #sidebar h2 {font-size: 1.3em; margin: 1.3em 0 0.5em 0;} #sidebar dl {margin: 0 0 10px 0;} #sidebar ul {list-style: none; margin: 0; padding: 0;} #sidebar li {padding-bottom: 5px; line-height: 0.9;} #profile-container {color: #7B8186;} #profile-container img {border: solid 1px #7C78B5; padding: 4px 4px 8px 4px; margin: 0 10px 1em 0; float: left;} .archive-list {margin-bottom: 2em;} #powered-by {margin: 10px auto 20px auto;} /* -- sidebar style -- */ #footer p {margin: 0; padding: 12px 8px; font-size: 0.9em;} #footer hr {display: none;} /* Feeds ----------------------------------------------- */ #blogfeeds { } #postfeeds { }

Thursday 16 April 2015

Mackerel with Madeirean Special Sauce and Cooked Maize (Mihle or Polenta)


This is my take on a dish we enjoyed at the Apolo Cafe in Funchal, Madeira.  We had just visited the local farmers market, including the fish market and it had whetted our appetite for lunch.


The Cafe Apolo is right in the centre of Funchal right opposite the Cathedral and we were tempted by the special 'Fresh from the Market' lunch of 'Mackerel Fillets with Madeirean Special Sauce and Cooked Maize (Polenta)'.

We really enjoyed eating at this street cafe, it is frequented by locals and tourists alike and is a great place for people watching.

This was our meal, a bowl of creamy polenta and a plate with two huge fillets of mackerel with a pool a lovely Madeira sauce flavoured with thyme.


I wanted to recreate this fish dish, all I had to go on was the name of the dish and what I had tasted.  I reckoned that if it was a Madeirean Sauce it would contain Madeira, don't you think?  We had really enjoyed drinking a glass of Madeira on our holiday and had also been to the tour of Blandy's to learn about how Madeira was made and the history of this group of producers.  I was pleased to find a bottle of Blandy's Duke of Clarence Madeira in my local supermarket.  I had also definitely seen and tasted thyme in the sauce and that's about all   Here is what I came up with:

Mackerel in Madeirean Special Sauce with Cooked Maize (Mihle or Polenta)
Serves 4

For the Polenta
1.5 litres water
1 tsp salt
180g polenta
100g grated cheese
20-30g butter

1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan, add the salt.
2. Pour the polenta in a stream into the boiling water whisking gently.
3. Keep whisking until the polenta has thickened.
4. Cover the polenta and either keep cooking on the stove at a low heat, or put in the oven at 150C.  Stir well every 10 minutes scraping down the sides.  Cook for about 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the cheese and butter and serve immediately.

For the fish
4 fresh mackerel fillets
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lemon zest and juice
2 heaped tsp  butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50 ml Madeira


  1. Place the mackerel on a flat plate or baking tray and cover with the grated lemon zest, lemon juice and a tsp thyme leaves stripped from the stalks, cover with cling film and leave for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Put the Madeira in a small pan on a medium high heat and simmer to reduce the liquid by half.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and sauté the onion until soft, add the butter then cook the mackerel fillets for about 3 minutes each side.
  4. Serve the mackerel fillets on top of the creamy polenta and season the pan juices to taste and pour over the dish, the pour over the reduced Madeira.



I also chopped some courgettes and pan fried them in butter with garlic and cherry tomatoes to serve with the mackerel and polenta.


I used this amazing Farina Polenta Taragna from UFUUD a specialist supplier of traditional Italian food. Molino Filippini’s special flour for taragna polenta is composed of a mixture of ground buckwheat and maize, carefully blended to ensure a top-class product that respects the traditions of northern Italy.  I'll be sharing more delicious Italian foods from UFUUD very soon.

Polenta Chips
Polenta is incredibly filling so we found that we had quite a lot left over.  I lined a tray with baking paper and spread the thick polena on top.  I then left it in the fridge for a few days, although you can use it as soon as it is cold and set., and sliced it into finger shapes.

To bake the 'chips' I brushed oil onto a non-stick baking sheet and laid out the chips with a little gap between each one, I then brushed all the chips with oil and baked in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes.  I took the tray out and turned the chips over, then returned to the oven for another 15 minutes.

They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the flavour of the cheese came through more strongly than in the wet polenta.  The change in taste reminded me of the gnocchi  I made, which was also much tastier when sautéed in butter!

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

5 Comments:

At 17 April 2015 at 11:27 , Blogger Unknown said...

M gosh I want to head of to Madeira to check out that farmers market myself.

 
At 17 April 2015 at 11:49 , Blogger Karen S Booth said...

What a fascinating post Janice and such a tasty fishy recipe too - you obviously loved your time in Madeira! Karen

 
At 18 April 2015 at 07:51 , Anonymous Elizabeth said...

MMm loving the sound of this! That polenta sounds amazing! Looks like you had a super trip away too - so envious! :D I need to travel more...!

 
At 18 April 2015 at 11:48 , Blogger Choclette said...

Oh gosh Janice, you have reminded me I have a pack of that very same polenta somewhere. Not sure why I haven't used it as I love polenta and the produce from UFUUD is excellent.

 
At 23 May 2015 at 23:36 , Anonymous ben black said...

This is a great blog I love the articles I have added it to my bookmarks will be back for more :)

 

Post a Comment

I love to read your comments and try to reply when I can. I have had to enable comment moderation due to high levels of spam, so it may take a little time before your comment is visible. Please let me know if you make one of my recipes or if you have any questions I will try to answer them. Janice

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home